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OUR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS 


French Life 


German Life 


Russian Life 


Dutch Life 


Swiss Life 


Spanish Life 


Italian Life 


Danish Life 


Austro ''Hungarian Life 


Turkish Life 


Belgian Life 



OUR EUROPEAN 
NEIGHBOURS 

EDITED BY 

WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON 



BELGIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY 



BELGIAN LIFE 
IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY ^ a 

By Demetrius C. Boulger 



ILLUSTRATED 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK AND LONDON 

^be Iknickerbockcc iprees 

1904 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

JUN 4 1904 

Copyright Entry 

CCASS A XXo. N^. 

COPY B 



Copyright, 1904 

BY 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 



Published, May, 1904 



Ube IRnicftcrbocftcr Press, "Wew Jgorf? 



CONTENTS 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The Two Races oe Bei^gium . . . . i 

CHAPTER II 
The Modern Constitution 17 

CHAPTEPv III 

The LEGISI.ATURE AND THE Eeectorate . • 33 

CHAPTEPv IV 
The Court and Society 48 

CHAPTER V 
Burgher Liee in Brussels 62 

CHAPTER VI 
The Commercial Classes oe Antwerp . . 79 

CHAPTER VII 
The Mines of the Borinage .... 93 



vi Contents 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VIII 
Thk Manufacturing Centres . . . .108 

CHAPTER IX 
Country Life in Bei^gium 127 

CHAPTER X 
The Dead Cities of Fi.anders . . . .142 

CHAPTER XI 
Education and Rewgious Aspects . . .155 

CHAPTER XII 
Law and Justice 171 

CHAPTER XIII 
In True Wai.i,onia 189 

CHAPTER XIV 
Amusements and Legends 202 

CHAPTER XV 

Literature and Science 218 

« 

CHAPTER XVI 

IN LEAFY ArdEN 233 



Contents vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XVII 

Some Poptjlar Types— Men 249 

CHAPTER XVII r 
Some Popui,ar Types— Women . . . .262 

CHAPTER XIX 
Seaport and Saii^or Life 277 

CHAPTER XX 
The Army and Miutary Life .' . . . 285 

CHAPTER XXI 
C01.0NIES AND Coi^oNiAi, Aspirations . . 302 
Index - . . 317 




ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Pai^ace oe the Nation, Brussei^s 

Frontispiece 

The PAI.ACE OF the King, Brussei^s ... 20 

The Pai^ace oe France, Brussei^ ... 40 

The PAI.ACE OF F1.ANDERS, BRUSSE13 . 58 

A Street Scene in Brussei^s .... 76 

A Fi^emish Mii^kwoman . , . . i34 

Costume of a Woman of Antwerp . 134 

The Bei^fry at Bruges . . . = 146 

Pont de Broei. at Courtrai . . . .148 

The Ci,oth Market at Ypres . .150 

Town Hai,i, at Oudenarde 152 

Grenadiers 204 



X Illustrations 

PAGE 

The Cathedrai, at Anvers .... 236 

View oe Dinant and the Vali^ey oe The Meuse 238 

The Chateau oe Wai^zin at DinanT . . 240 

A M11.KWOMAN OE Brussei^ ..... 266 

The Beach at Ostend 278 




BELGIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY 



BELGIAN LIFE IN TOWN 
AND COUNTRY 



CHAPTER I 

THK TWO RACES OF BKI<GIUM 

THE most striking fact in the national life of 
modern Belgium is that two distinct races, 
in blood and in language, form there a single 
community and even a united people. In Austria- 
Hungary there are many races and many tongues, 
but in Belgium there are only two, and as they 
almost balance each other in strength and influ- 
ence, the harmony that exists between them is 
the more remarkable. These two races are the 
Walloons and the Flemings. The connecting 
bond between them is, no doubt, the close politi- 
cal association that has kept Walloons and Flem- 
ings under the same administration, since the first 
union of the state in the fifteenth century by 
Philip the Good, of the House of Burgundy. The 
fact that the two races have shared a common 



Belgian Life 



political destiny under foreign and native rulers 
during more than four hundred and fifty years has 
removed many natural causes of friction between 
them, and has created some definite belief in their 
joint and identical interest. It is a fact, which 
cannot be explained away, that Flemings and 
Walloons have never in the long course of their 
combined history, which commenced with the 
close of feudalism, engaged in a racial war, and 
this absence of strife has left an abiding impres- 
sion on their relations. The strongest link, how- 
ever, in the chain that connects the two peoples 
of the South Netherlands is provided by identity 
of religion; so that the most fruitful cause of all 
human differences and quarrels has never arisen 
to create a feud between Flemings and Walloons. 
There is, consequently, every reason to conclude 
that the two races, which in the past never came 
into hostile collision, are now well content to per- 
form their duties together, and to be known as 
Belgians. 

When people talk of the Belgians as a modern 
people, with a history of only seventy-four years, 
they should not forget that the Flemings have 
scarcely changed in character, and not at all in 
their tongue, since the days of the Plantagenets; 
and that the Walloons, of Liege at least, are very 
much what they were in the time of the prince - 
bishops. Under these circumstances, it would 
have been natural to expect that one language 
would have prevailed over the other, or, at least, 



The Two Races of Belgium 3 

spread, while the other contracted. Such has not 
been the case. The Flemings still speak Flemish, 
the great majority of the Walloons French, while 
the Walloons of the Ardennes and parts of the 
province of Liege retain, for ordinary use, their 
old ''Romance" tongue, Walloon. There has 
been no marked change in the proportions which 
the three languages bear to each other, except 
that all the Walloons now speak French. A very 
small section in the Liege province, on the Prus- 
sian frontier, have, however, adopted German in- 
stead, but numerically they are insignificant. 

There has never been any combined or common 
movement, as might have been expected during 
the long process of forming a new nation, towards 
the adoption of a single language in either French 
or Flemish, and this fact is very remarkable in 
the case of French, which had chances of spread- 
ing, through its hold on society and literature, 
that to onlookers would have seemed almost irre- 
sistible. The powers of resistance possessed by 
the Flemish race have been well displayed in the 
preservation of their language, and this triumph 
is rendered more remarkable by the fact that the 
Flemings, despite the German origin of their lan- 
guage, have never had any German sympathies, 
and have never received any outside assistance 
whatever in the successful maintenance of the 
right to preserve their own speech. As Flemish 
national energy is just as intense to-day as it was 
in the time of the Arteveldes, any project for the 



4* Belgian Life 

supersession of the Flemish language by French 
must now be pronounced chimerical. The French 
propaganda had every chance in its favour, and a 
fair field between 1831 and 1855, and it signally 
failed to gain the mastery. The conditions will 
probably never again be so favourable for it, and 
in the meantime a decisive Flemish triumph has 
been achieved. The only practical solution of the 
difficulty is that all Belgians should be bilinguists. 
At present, this accomplishment is possessed by 
little more than ten per cent, of the population, 
and the bulk of these persons reside in Brussels 
and the province of Brabant, which is intermodiate 
between Flanders and the Walloon countries. 

The difference in the languages of the two races 
inhabiting what is now Belgium first attracted at- 
tention in the divisions of territory that took place 
soon after the death of Charlemagne, more than a 
thousand years ago. The fact that the Flemings 
speak a German or Tudesque language seems to 
show clearl)^ enough that they are descendants 
of the German colonists established on Belgian 
soil by several Roman emperors. Clovis also in- 
troduced German settlers in the Meuse valley, and 
finally Charlemagne removed a large number of 
Saxon families from their homes in Germany to 
the plains of Flanders. The western districts of 
Belgium were those in which these immigrants, 
voluntary or forced, congregated. Flemish influ- 
ence never reached the right bank of the Meuse, 
and a solid wedge of Walloon territory separated 



The Two Races of Belgium 5 

the Flemings from the Germans. When the 
Germans became interested in the Netherlands 
at the end of the fifteenth century, through the 
marriage of the Archduke Maximilian with the 
heiress of Burgundy, the Flemings had lost all 
sympathy with their kinsmen in blood, and so it 
has remained ever since. 

While the Flemish people form the German ele- 
ment in the Belgian nation, ethnologically con- 
sidered, the Walloons represent the Celtic. They 
have probably a superior claim over that of the 
Flemings to be regarded as the descendants of the 
Belgic tribes of the country, or such of them as 
survived the sweeping measures of Caesar, and 
they are closely akin to the people of ancient Gaul 
and modern France. They were probably leav- 
ened also by marriage between their women and 
the members of the Roman garrison, established 
for several centuries on their soil, just as they were 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by as- 
sociation with the Spaniards. The Roman and 
Spanish types are frequently met with in the pro- 
vinces of Namur, I<uxemburg, and Liege; and 
many Roman names, such as Gambrinus, Fabro- 
nius, Mamius, and Marius, are to be found to-day 
among Walloon surnames. 

The Walloons have the more right, then, to 
pose as the original inhabitants of the country, 
and their language may be regarded as the * ' Ro- 
mance " tongue which marked the transition be- 
tween Latin and French. As Walloon is a living 



6 Belgian Life 

language to-day, the vehicle for the thoughts of 
the people in large districts, such as Liege and the 
Ardennes, this race has shown scarcely less te- 
nacity in preserving the idiom of a thousand years 
ago than the Flemings. But there is one marked 
difference between them. There is scarcely a 
Walloon who does not now speak French, whereas 
the vast majority of the Flemings are acquainted 
only with their own tongue, and find themselves 
in a foreign state when they visit the French- 
speaking parts of the common country. 

As the two races had preserved their own sepa- 
rate languages during the long centuries that the 
country was subject to a foreign Power — Germany, 
Spain, Austria, France, or Holland — it is not sur- 
prising to find that the achievement of independ- 
ence in 1830 was followed, after a brief interval, 
by the appearance of a language difficulty in 
modern Belgium. The Belgian rising against the 
Dutch in that year was primarily a Walloon 
movement. The Flemings, whose community of 
language with the Dutch provided them with a 
certain fellow-feeling, and at least prevented their 
resenting the proclamation of Dutch as the official 
national language of the Netherlands, were more 
disposed than the Walloons to accept the Orange 
dynasty. They might have dissociated them- 
selves from the insurrectionary movement alto- 
gether but for the Dutch measures against the 
Roman Catholic Church, w^hich roused their re- 
ligious fervour, and even as it was, they left the 



The Two Races of Belgium 7 

direction of the movement in the hands of the 
Walloons of Brussels and Liege. On the success 
of the movement for national liberation, it was 
only natural, then, that the Walloons should pro- 
claim French as the official language of the coun- 
try. At that moment, quite half the population 
did not understand a word of it; but seeing that 
the fatal act of the Dutch, w^hich entailed their 
expulsion, had been the proclamation of their lan- 
guage as the national tongue to be employed in 
the courts, the triumph of French became a neces- 
sary part of the national triumph, and any agita- 
tion at such a moment on behalf of the Flemish 
language would have seemed unpatriotic and sym- 
pathetic to the Dutch. None the less, a thought- 
ful man knowing the situation would have declared 
that such a state of things could not endure per- 
manently. A solution would of necessity have to 
be found, or the state would split into two frag- 
ments at the first crisis or appearance of danger. 
The only possible solutions were three in number, 
viz., that the Walloons should give up French and 
adopt Flemish, which was so inconceivable as to 
be palpably absurd; or that the Flemings should 
drop their language and learn French, which, if 
not so fantastic, was still highly improbable; or 
that both races should master the two languages 
and become bilinguists. For this last solution, 
the most equal and the most flattering arrange- 
ment to both races, time and the spread of educa- 
tion were essential elements of success. 



8 Belgian Life 

The establishment of the modern kingdom of 
Belgium in 1831 was followed then by that of 
French in the Chambers, the courts of law, and 
the colleges as the national language of the new 
state. It had been employed by society more or 
less generally since the Crusades. Not a word 
was raised for or by the Flemings, the vast ma- 
jority of whom, as has been said, could not at that 
moment speak a word of French. But before the 
young kingdom had reached its twentieth year 
several things had become clearer, and one of 
these was that the Flemings were quite resolved 
not to give up their language. The necessary 
corollary of this tenacity was that they should 
claim and agitate for the admission of their lan- 
guage to an equal place with French in the coun- 
try, of which they formed not the lesser part. A 
French observer, writing in 1855 from Brussels, 
declared, ** The Fleming is slow, but he moves, 
and when once he makes up his mind to travel, 
he goes far without stopping." The observation 
was called forth by the appointment of a Commis- 
sion to inquire into the complaints of the Flemish 
population set forth in numberless petitions. The 
report of this Commission was strongly in favour 
of Flemish pretensions. It recommended that 
Flemish should be placed on an equality with 
French, and that all examinations and pleadings 
in the courts should be held or expressed in either 
language or in both. The Government was so 
surprised at the sweeping character of these pro- 



The Two Races of Belgium 9 

posals that it suppressed the report, and kept it 
secret. Its purport only leaked out gradually 
with the lapse of years. 

The Flemish movement began at Ghent in a 
modest way about the year 1836. Half a dozen 
literary and scientific men founded there a Flem- 
ish review called Belgisch Mziseum, and meeting 
with considerable success, they soon afterwards 
formed a club, taking as their motto, De taal is 
gansch hetvolkQ'' The language is the whole peo- 
ple"). In 1844, Jan Frans Willems, the leader of 
the movement, summoned a Congress, not, it is 
true, for a political purpose, but merely to exhort 
the Government to preserve the literar}^ treasures 
of Flanders by the publication of its ancient texts. 
Assent was given to this request, but the necessary 
funds were not voted for ten years, which proved 
that the Government regarded the Flemish move- 
ment with distrust and even dislike. Willems 
died soon after the first Congress, but the Con- 
gresses went on, and were sometimes held in Hol- 
land as well as in Belgium. The work of Willems 
was continued in a more efficacious manner by 
Henri Conscience, whose romances stimulated 
Flemish pride and aspirations, and recalled the 
great days of Flanders. His ' * Lion of Flanders ' ' 
(^Leeiiw van Vlaandere^i) became not merely the 
most popular book of the day, but it idealised for 
all time the thoughts and longings of the Flemish 
race. It has, without much exaggeration, been 
called the Flemish bible. 



lo Belgian Life 

The efforts of Conscience were well seconded by 
those of the poet Ledeganck, whose ballads were 
sung or recited from one end of Flanders to the 
other. There were many other writers in the 
same field, and the Flemish agitation was illus- 
trated by the one genuine literary movement that 
has occurred in modern Belgium. There were 
thus two marked and opposing tendencies in the 
country. The liberation of Belgium had been fol- 
lowed by the undoubted and obvious increase of 
French influence in official circles. All the sym- 
pathies of the Court and the Government were 
French, but there was no corresponding movement 
in the literature of the country. The Walloon in- 
tellect proved sterile. On the other hand was to 
be seen a remarkable ebullition, not merely of 
talent, but of original genius, in the Flemish race, 
which had so long remained torpid and silent. 
This literary activity furnished proof of the vital- 
ity of the race, and of the strength of its hopes, 
which precluded the possibility of contentment 
with a subordinate position. The Flemings were 
resolved not to be a party to their own effacement. 
It was not, however, until 1861 that the Flemish 
party succeeded in carrying in the Chamber an 
address to the King, expressing the hope that 
justice would be done to **the well-founded de- 
mands of the Flemings. ' ' 

It was soon after this event that a favourable 
opportunity offered itself for a demonstration cal- 
culated to stimulate public opinion. A native of 



The Two Races of Belgium 1 1 

Flanders, brought before one of the courts at 
Brussels, refused to plead in French, and his atti- 
tude was supported and imitated by his counsel. 
In another case a Fleming accused of murder was 
tried and sentenced without his understanding a 
word of what passed in court. The most was 
made of these cases to strengthen the claims of the 
Netherlanders, as the Flemish party called them- 
selves. There was an obvious need for reform, 
and the public realised that the concession of the 
Flemish demands could only be denied at the peril 
of disintegration. At last a first tangible success 
was obtained when a law was passed in 1873 to the 
effect that in criminal cases the court should em- 
ploy the language of the accused person. After 
that, the Flemish movement progressed rapidly. 
A Flemish Academy was founded by the State in 
1886; Flemish theatres for the exclusive represent- 
ation of Flemish plays, or, at least, translations, 
were set up at the cost of the nation in Brussels, 
Antwerp, and Ghent. Finally, the Flemish text 
of laws and regulations was declared to be equally 
valid with the French; the names of streets, and 
all public notices in them, were to be printed in 
the two languages in the five provinces in which 
Flemish is spoken; and a fluent acquaintance with 
both languages has more recentl}^ been made an 
express condition of employment in Government 
service in the same provinces for minor posts, and 
generally for those of a superior grade. With 
these successes the triumph of the Flemish cause 



12 Belgian Life 

may be said to have been made complete. Ostra- 
cised after 1830, the Flemish language has gained 
in the last forty years a position of equality with 
French as the official language of Belgium. 

The following statistics will be useful for pur- 
poses of reference in connection with the language 
question. By the census of 1890 the population 
of Belgium was 6,069,321. Of this number 
2,744,271 spoke only Flemish, 2,485,072 only 
French, and 32,206 only German. With regard 
to those speaking more than one language, 700,997 
spoke French and Flemish, 58,590 French and 
German, 7028 Flemish and German, and 36,185 
French, Flemish, and German. The census of 
1900 showed that the population had risen to 
6,815,054. Of this total 3,145,000 spoke only 
Flemish, 2,830,000 only French, and 770,000 the 
two languages. 

The struggle of the languages has, therefore, 
resulted in what may be called a drawn battle. 
Flemish has gained the position to which the an- 
tiquity and solidity of its pretensions entitled it, 
but French remains the language of society, of 
the administration, and of the bulk of the litera- 
ture of the country, while the common language 
of the people in the eastern and south-eastern 
divisions is Walloon. There still remains to be 
found a solution for the political difficulties that 
must arise in a community so constituted, and it 
seems as if it can only be found in the direction 
of bilingualism. This result must be promoted 



The Two Races of Belgium 13 

by the stipulation that proficiency in the two 
tongues is requisite for public employment; but 
there are still nearly six millions of people in Bel- 
gium who know only one language. The Flem- 
ings have preserved their language by a rigid 
exclusiveness, and they have always refused to 
learn any other. The encouragement of bilingual- 
ism by the authorities is now represented to be 
an insidious attempt to vulgarise French in Flan- 
ders, On the other hand, the Walloons are pro- 
testing against the waste of time, and the useless- 
ness of learning a language which is never heard 
in Wallonia. Time may remove these suspicions 
and complaints, and force home the conviction to 
the mind of every Belgian that under the peculiar 
conditions in which his country is constituted, it 
is the duty of each citizen to master the language 
of the brother race, which shares the same national 
fortunes. 

The great bond, however, between the two races 
is religious union. Bavaria, Ireland, and Belgium 
have been called the three most devoted children 
of the Church of Rome, and in Belgium to-day the 
Flemings are the staunchest of Roman Catholics, 
and the real supporters of the political influence 
of their Church. Readers of Motley may remem- 
ber his describing "the great majority of the 
burghers" of Ghent as belonging to " the Re- 
formed religion." It would be difficult to discover 
to-day not only in Ghent, but throughout the 
whole of Flanders, a single Flemish family which 



14 Belgian Life 

is not attached to the Roman Catholic faith. This 
religious unanimity makes for the stability of 
Belgium, because it effectually separates the 
Flemings from the Dutch, who are practically the 
same people in race and language. The Walloons 
never betrayed any sympathies with the Reforma- 
tion, and their devotion to the Roman Catholic 
Church in the sixteenth century was the main 
cause of the preservation of Spanish rule in the 
Netherlands, and of the consequent split of the 
provinces into North and South. But at the pres- 
ent time the Flemings rather than the Walloons 
are the chief prop of Roman Catholic power in 
Belgium. The reason for this may be found by 
comparing the characters of the two races. The 
Fleming is simple in his habits, and somewhat 
restricted in his views, but with strong feelings, 
and a capacity for intense devotion to his convic- 
tions. He is averse to change of any kind, and 
having reconciled himself to the Church of Rome, 
after a brief lapse three and a half centuries ago, 
for which a severe penance was paid, he shows no 
tendency to embark on further theological adven- 
tures. The Walloon, on the other hand, is given 
by character to scepticism and free thought. He 
is far from being a docile servant of the Church, 
and politically he is quite beyond its control; not 
that he has any tendency towards any other creed. 
The Church of Rome has not to fear Protestantism 
in any form among the Walloons, who include 
only one church within their religious or politico- 



The Two Races of Belgium 15 

religious horizon. With them it is a question of 
the Roman Catholic Church or no church at all. 
The Walloons are the chief supporters and pro- 
ducers of the advanced lyiberals and the Socialists. 
With the former the religious sentiment is far 
from being dead, but with the latter the deposition 
of the Church is an article of their programme. 
The Liberals, however, have long been a decaying 
force. For fifty years they possessed political su- 
premacy in Belgium, and the effort has apparently 
exhausted them. The old leaders are gone, and 
new ones have not yet been found. The capacity 
of reproduction seems to have disappeared. The 
Liberals of to-day have no inspiration and no pro- 
gramme. On the other hand, the Socialists are 
an active and aggressive body with definite ends, 
and moving towards a clearly visible goal. In 
the Walloon provinces they are rapidly winning 
over, if they have not already won over, the 
whole of the proletariat. Fortunately for the sta- 
bility of the country the Flemish population is 
just as stolid in its support of the Roman Catholic 
party, which from the political point of view is the 
only barrier to the spread and triumph of Republi- 
canism throughout the land. The last election, 
however, favours a belief that the formation of a 
new moderate central party is not outside the 
bounds of possibility, and several eloquent speak- 
ers have been discovered who, in the course of 
time, may become popular leaders. 

There is another direction in which the Flem- 



i6 Belgian Life 

ings have done good work. They may claim that 
much of the present prosperity of the country has 
been due in a special degree to their efforts. They 
are hard workers, and the development of the 
agricultural wealth of East and West Flanders 
since Belgium became a kingdom has been un- 
exampled. Industrially they have revived the 
reputation of Ghent, and commercially they 
have made Antwerp the first or second port of 
the Continent. The extraordinary material pro- 
gress of Belgium, which will form the subject of 
another chapter, furnishes clear proof that the 
presence of two distinct races side by side, and 
running together, as it were, in harness, is not in- 
compatible with the attainment of a high degree 
of prosperity. 




CHAPTER II 

THK MODERN CONSTITUTION 

BELGIUM, one is frequently reminded when 
writing of the great past of the Belgian 
races, dates only from 1830. The application of 
the same arbitrary rule to English history would 
exclude much upon which the historian has been 
wont to descant as contributing to the making of 
England. However, the existing constitution of 
Belgium was drawn up in 1830 and the following 
year, and although the name was suggested for 
the country in 1789, and again in 1814-15, Bel- 
gique, or Belgium, was then first adopted as the 
designation of the nine Southern provinces of the 
Netherlands. The revolt of the Belgians against 
the Dutch in 1830 was sudden and unexpected, 
and Belgians still living, who witnessed its scenes 
when children, speak of it as a misunderstanding. 
The King, William I., of the house of Orange- 
Nassau, was undoubtedly well-intentioned, and 
his son, the Prince of Orange, of Waterloo fame, 
was popular everywhere. But one great and irre- 
parable fault was committed. The policy of the 

Dutch King was ostentatiously shown to include 
2 

17 



1 8 Belgian Life 

a systematic attempt to change the language of 
half his Southern subjects, and the religion of 
them all. These innovations, and the steps pre- 
liminary to them, were entitled reforms and liberal 
measures; but, as was written at the time, " This 
King was too much of a Liberal to be a ruler, and 
too much of a king to be a Liberal. " Moreover, 
Belgium was not Liberal in any Dutch sense of 
the word; it was Roman Catholic and Conserva- 
tive, attached to its traditional rights, and proud 
of the old separate constitutions of the different 
provinces. The Fundamental Law of August 
24, 1815, marked the Dutch ideal, while the Bel- 
gians looked to the past when their ' ' States * ' 
represented the only constitution to be found on 
the Continent, and traced back their liberties to 
the charters of the Baldwins and of Wenceslas. 

Events in Belgium were undoubtedly hastened 
by the French Revolution of July, 1830, which 
ended the monarchy of the Bourbons, and estab- 
lished a constitutional one in its place. The Bel- 
gians had never felt any attachment for the Dutch 
regime, and for some years had been openly dis- 
contented, but the agitation might not have taken 
a bellicose form if the change of government in 
France had not furnished some ground of hope 
that support would be forthcoming for the cause 
of the people in a country so closely attached to 
it by the ties of race, religion, and language. On 
the 25th of August, 1830, during the performance 
in Brussels of the opera, the Muette de Portia, the 



The Modern Constitution 19 

populace took fire when the tenor sang the well- 
known and spirit-stirring words of Massaniello: 

Plutot mourir que rester miserable, 

Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger? 
Tombe le joug qui nous accable, 

Kt sous nos coups perisse 1' Stranger. 
Amour sacr6 de la patrie, 

Rends nous I'audace et la fierte ; 
A mon pays je dois la vie, 

H me devra sa liberty ! 

The audience rose in their seats, joined in the 
refrain, and, stopping the performance, rushed 
into the streets. They then hastened off to attack 
the residences of the Dutch Ministers, and pillaged 
them. There were then very few troops in the 
town, which passed into the possession of the 
people of Brussels, who summoned a Council of 
Notables. King William moved a force of five 
thousand men under his two sons to Vilvorde, and 
there can be little doubt that if it had advanced at 
once it could have stamped out the agitation in 
blood. King William was not a cruel man, and 
was all for a pacific solution; while his son, the 
Prince of Orange, relied on his popularity. In- 
stead of entering at the head of his troops, the lat- 
ter rode into the city attended by only six officers. 
He remained three days in Brussels, and when he 
left he took away a document which may be 
termed, as the reader prefers, a petition or an 
ultimatum, containing the formal wish of the 



20 Belgian Life 

Belgian leaders for separation * * under the Orange 
dynasty." 

King William's reply to this message was made 
ten days later, when in his speech to the Dutch 
Chambers he declared that he would never yield 
"to passion and violence." At the same time 
orders were given to the Dutch troops to recover 
possession of Brussels, and as the Prince of 
Orange was loath to take any measures against 
the city in which he had lived so long, the com- 
mand was entrusted to his brother, Prince Fred- 
erick. Brussels was still a walled city, and on 
September 23rd, the Dutch attacked four of its 
gates. At two they were repulsed, but at the 
other two they were successful, and forced their 
way to the park facing the Palace. Here they 
were brought to a halt and found themselves 
in a trap. The success which had been certain 
on September ist could no longer be achieved on 
the 23rd, for in the interval the Brussels in- 
surgents had been joined by a strong contingent 
from Liege, and the whole of Walloon Belgium 
was in open insurrection. The Dutch troops in the 
park were attacked from all sides, and after three 
days' fighting, Prince Frederick found himself 
obliged to extricate himself from a false and dan- 
gerous position by a midnight retreat. The Hotel 
Bellevue was used as a fort by the popular party, 
and some idea of the severity of the fighting may 
be formed from the fact that six hundred Belgian 
citizens were killed during those few days. These 



.^ 









THE PALACE OF THE KING, BRUSSELS 



The Modern Constitution 21 

men are regarded as the Martyrs of the Belgian 
Revolution, and there is a fine monument to them 
in the Place des Martyrs, over the trench in which 
they — simples citoyens morts pour la liberti — 
were buried. After this the Orange dynasty was 
doomed, and the cry became * * Separation and 
Independence." 

A Provisional Government had been formed 
even before the Dutch troops retreated, and its 
purpose was rev^ealed in the following public no- 
tice: ''The Belgian provinces detached by force 
from Holland shall form an Independent State." 
Envoys were sent to London and Paris to enlist 
the sympathy of their governments, while more 
strenuous measures were taken to expel the Dutch 
from the country. The Belgian Volunteers, as- 
suming the offensive, gained two successes at 
Waelhem and Berchem, at the latter of which 
places the heroic Count Frederic de Merode died 
of his wounds. Antwerp, excepting the citadel, 
was occupied before the end of October, and then 
the five Powers, sitting in conference in London, 
interposed to bring about an armistice, as the pre- 
liminary to some definite arrangement. It had 
become clear to most minds that the kingdom of 
the Netherlands, formed in 1815, had practically 
ceased to exist. If the Brussels movement had 
been crushed on September ist, history would 
have spoken of the participators only as rioters. 
One short month raised them to the rank of 
patriots and liberators of their country. On 



22 Belgian Life 

November i8th, the National Assembly, convoked 
for that day, declared as its first act * * the inde- 
pendence of the Belgian people." 

It must always be considered a remarkable fact 
that the Belgian Revolution of August-Septem- 
ber, 1830, was immediately followed by the pro- 
duction of a constitution which has stood the test 
of seventy years. On February 7, 1831, the 
Constitution was published, while the Powers 
were still deliberating over the safeguards to be 
imposed on the new state for its own protection 
and for the maintenance of the balance of power 
in Europe. The Belgian Constitution is an amal- 
gam of the separate constitutions of the pro- 
vinces. It is based on the principle of absolute 
liberty, and its 139 Articles cover the whole 
ground of constitutional law in "a constitutional, 
representative, and hereditary monarchy," such 
as Belgium was declared to be. Having formed 
the kingdom, it was necessary in the next place 
to find the king. The French prince, the Due de 
Nemours, son of King Louis Philippe, was the 
first choice of the Provisional Government; but 
his candidature was withdrawn, as it would have 
added too much to the power of France in the opin- 
ion of other states, and entailed a European war. 
Application was then made to Prince Leopold 
of Saxe-Coburg, who had recently declined the 
throne of Greece, and b}^ so doing rendered a con- 
siderable service to European diplomacy. Prince 
Leopold, the widower of the Princess Charlotte, 



The Modern Constitution 23 

only child of George IV., was then resident in 
England, and had made a reputation which his 
subsequent career did not belie. He accepted the 
offer, declaring that ** Human destiny does not 
offer a nobler or more useful task than that of be- 
ing called to found the independence of a nation, 
and to consolidate its liberties." On June 4, 
1 83 1, he was proclaimed King of the Belgians, 
and on July 21st his inauguration took place, 
with much ceremony, in Brussels. The creation 
of the kingdom of Belgium supplied the Dutch 
with an excuse for resuming hostilities, and rely- 
ing on the supposition that the Powers would cer- 
tainly quarrel among themselves sooner than 
allow the French to take up their position in 
Belgium, a Dutch army marched on Louvain and 
Brussels. 

The Belgian national forces were at that mo- 
ment badly organised, and the Dutch outnum- 
bered them. After one reverse at Hasselt, King 
I^eopold summoned the French army, which had 
been held in readiness on the frontier, to his as- 
sistance. On the same day that the Dutch in- 
vaders arrived in front of Louvain, the French 
deliverers entered Brussels. Threatened also by 
the British Government, which prepared to send 
a fleet to the Scheldt, King William counter- 
manded his orders and recalled his army. Un- 
fortunately for the Belgian national forces, this 
brief campaign served to increase the reputation 
and popularity of King Leopold, ''whose courage. 



24 Belgian Life 

coolness, and energy," in the words of General 
Belliard, " alone saved the Belgian army from 
annihilation. ' ' This remark had special reference 
to his skilful dispositions after the rout of the 
Belgians at Hasselt, and to the fortitude he dis- 
played in opposing with half-disciplined and dis- 
couraged troops the advance of the Dutch army 
on the capital. The Dutch troops having with- 
drawn, the French also retired within their fron- 
tier, but the attitude of Prussia, Austria, and 
Russia towards the new state was more than 
dubious, and their refusal to receive King lyco- 
pold's envoys was calculated to raise Dutch hopes. 
Curiously enough the Belgians encountered graver 
perils after the Dutch had retired from the whole 
country, with the exception of Antwerp citadel 
and one or two fortified places (Luxemburg and 
Maestricht), than before. The Twenty- four Ar- 
ticles of the final London Protocol of October 15, 
1 83 1, did not accord with the aspirations of the 
Belgians, who were compelled to cede the greater 
part of Luxemburg, which is now the Grand 
Duchy, and the portion of Limburg that lies east 
of the Meuse. If the Belgians did not like the 
loss of provinces inhabited by men of their own 
race, the Dutch openly resented the conditions of 
the Protocol, and refused to adhere to it. Inspired 
with hope by the attitude of the three Powers, 
which formed the Holy Alliance, King William 
once more prepared for war. During the same 
period, King Leopold also concentrated all his 



The Modern Constitution 25 

efforts and attention on the reorganisation and in- 
crease of the Belgian forces. Having succeeded 
in obtaining votes for military purposes to the ex- 
tent of three millions sterling, he raised the army 
to a strength of one hundred thousand men, and, 
by the admission of impartial observers, it had im- 
proved to such an extent from what it was at the 
time of the battle of Hasselt, that it could have 
dealt effectually with its Dutch opponents without 
any external assistance. 

During this critical period, England and 
France stood staunch beside Belgium, and King 
Leopold's marriage in August, 1832, with the 
Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Louis 
Philippe, strengthened the relations between 
Brussels and Paris. Notwithstanding that all 
the other Powers ratified the Protocol, King Wil- 
liam refused his assent, and retained possession of 
Antwerp citadel with a garrison of five thousand 
men. In October, 1832, it was decided by Eng- 
land and France that this defiance of the will of 
Europe could no longer be tolerated, and that the 
Dutch must retire from Antwerp. The Belgians, 
having one hundred thousand men ready to take 
the field, were most anxious to be allowed to re- 
cover Antwerp themselves, and considerable difii- 
culty was experienced in restricting them to the 
passive r61e that the powers imposed on them. In 
November, a French army, fifty thousand strong, 
commanded by Marshal Gerard, and accompanied 
by several of the Orleans princes, entered Belgium 



26 Belgian Life 

for a second time, under the terms of a convention 
concluded with the British Government, and laid 
siege to the citadel of Antwerp, which the com- 
mandant, General Chasse, refused to evacuate 
without an order from his sovereign. The de- 
fence of the citadel under great diflficulties, and 
against an overwhelming force, was prolonged for 
over three weeks, but when the wall had been 
breached, and everything was ready for an assault 
that could not have been resisted. General Chasse 
capitulated. His defence excited general admira- 
tion throughout Europe, and this was increased 
when it became known that the Dutch commander 
of the Scheldt flotilla, sooner than yield up his 
ships, had burned or sunk them. The closing 
scenes of Dutch authority in Belgium were thus 
redeemed by a rare display of fortitude and cour- 
age. Immediately after the surrender of Antwerp, 
the French army was withdrawn; but it was not 
until 1839 that King William finally gave way by 
adhering to the London Protocol and withdrawing 
from the forts on the Scheldt below Antwerp. 

The support given by the French army and 
diplomacy to the Belgians naturally earned their 
deep gratitude. By the arrangement between the 
two Powers, France played a more prominent 
part than England, but those in authority well 
knew that the latter had as much to do with the 
establishment of Belgian independence as any 
other state. If England had not heartily co- 
operated with France, France could not have 



The Modern Constitution 27 

acted at all. In the words of lyouis Philippe, 
" Belgium owes her independence and the re- 
covery of her territory to the union of France and 
Kngland in her cause." 

At the same time, the gratitude of the Belgians 
in 1832 was more effusive in its expression to the 
French than to the English. Even now they are 
prone to magnify the r61e of France and to mini- 
mise that of England in the great national crisis 
of seventy years ago. Marshal Gerard's troops 
had hardly recrossed the frontier, when a motion 
was made in the Belgian Chamber to express the 
gratitude of the Belgian people to France by de- 
molishing the Lion monument at Waterloo. The 
speaker also disparaged the services rendered by 
England. The Government opposed this motion, 
which was defeated, and M. Nothomb, the Min- 
ister of Foreign Affairs, paid the following tribute 
to England, whose share in their liberation and 
independence is too little appreciated by the 
Belgians: 

** The battle of Waterloo opened a new era for 
Europe, the era of representative government. I 
will not say anything about the strange manner 
in which this speaker has distorted that historical 
event. I will confine myself to saying that if the 
battle of Waterloo had been won by those who 
came to help us the other day, all would have 
been over with our nation for man}^ a long daj^ 
and this capital in which we meet might be no 
more than the chief town of the department of the 



2$ Belgian Life 

Dyle. I have been asked what England has done 
for Belgian independence, for the liberty of the 
world. What has she done ? But is contempo- 
rary history ignored? She was the last asy- 
lum of freedom while a Conqueror held Europe 
under his iron sceptre; she sustained a gigantic 
struggle to restore independence to this Continent. 
What has she done in the last two years ? She 
stretched forth her powerful hand first over France 
and then over Belgium, and she said to the other 
Powers, * You shall not interfere with these two 
revolutions ' ; and those two revolutions remain 
untouched. What has she done for us in particu- 
lar ? She has, among other things, prevented the 
subdivision of our territory. When the refusal of 
the Due de Nemours was known, plans for shar- 
ing and distributing our soil became general. It 
was England who opposed this project with 
greater energy than any one else. What has she 
done in the last three months ? She concluded in 
our interest a striking treaty with France, she 
broke away from all her traditions by her rupture 
with Holland." 

Having attained its independence, Belgium en- 
tered on the path of peaceful progress in the char- 
acter of a neutral state among the nations, and 
enjoying in its domestic affairs the privileges con- 
ferred by the Constitution of February, 1831 . Its 
neutrality was put to a severe test in 1840, when 
war between England and France seemed immi- 
nent, and there were some politicians who hoped 



The Modern Constitution 29 

that Belgium, in recognition of past services, 
would declare herself the ally of the French. 
The Belgian Government had a more correct view 
of its position and duty, and declared that its 
policy was that of " sincere, loyal, and strong 
neutrality." 

In 1870, the Franco- Prussian war confronted 
Belgium with a fresh crisis. Her neutrality had 
been proclaimed, but the question in doubt was 
whether she could maintain it by force of arms, 
if necessary; in other words, whether it was a 
'* strong " neutrality as well as a sincere one. In 
1840, it was only a matter of a proclamation 
against an eventuality; but in 1870, the responsi- 
bility was a real one, and not free from danger. 
The Belgian army was mobilised, and sent to the 
frontier to guard it, and after the battle of Sedan 
a large number of French soldiers fled into Bel- 
gium, and were interned there during the continu- 
ance of the war. Some German soldiers who 
crossed the frontier in pursuit were treated in the 
same fashion. For a second time the principle of 
Belgian neutrality had been successfully and 
peacefully vindicated; but in this instance it must 
always be remembered that the result was largely 
due to the active intervention of the British Gov- 
ernment, which signed a treaty with France, 
and another with Prussia, engaging itself to de- 
clare war upon the Power that violated Belgian 
territory. 

The important point to be remembered is that 



30 Belgian Life 

while Belgium is a state whose neutrality is 
guaranteed by the chief Powers, she retains in 
undiminished force the responsibility of making 
her neutrality respected, and, in the extreme case 
of invasion, of affording effective co-operation to 
those who intervene for her protection. This she 
could have done in 1840, and in a minor degree in 
1870, but a careful reorganisation of her military 
system is needed to enable her and her friends to 
co-operate efficaciously in the future. 

The Belgian Constitution declared the monarchy 
to be hereditary in the male line, in the family of 
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, after his accep- 
tance of the crown. His marriage with Princess 
Louise of Orleans has been mentioned. Their 
family consisted of two sons and one daughter. 
The elder of the sons, born in April, 1835, suc- 
ceeded his father as Leopold II. in December, 
1865, and is still reigning. He married the Au- 
strian Archduchess Marie Henriette in 1853, and 
by her had one son and three daughters. As the 
Salic law prevails in Belgium, it is unnecessary to 
say anything of the female descendants of Kings 
Leopold I. and II., except that the daughter of the 
formei, the Princess Charlotte, married the un- 
fortunate Archduke Maximilian, who became 
Emperor of Mexico, and was shot at Queretaro in 
1867. The only son of Leopold II. bore the title 
of Duke of Brabant, and died in 1869, when, fail- 
ing any subsequent male issue, the succession 
passed to the King's brother, the Count of Flan- 



The Modern Constitution 31 

ders, born in 1837. This prince married, in 1867, 
the Princess Mary of HohenzoUern, sister of the 
King of Roumania, and by her has had two sons 
and two daughters. The elder son, Prince Bau- 
douin, or Baldwin, was endowed with a bright 
and attractive personality, and he was immensely 
popular with the people. His death in 1891 was 
felt as a national calamity. His brother, Prince 
Albert, the last male descendant of the first King, 
then became heir-presumptive, and fears were en- 
tertained that the house of Saxe-Coburg might 
eventually become extinct in Belgium, and the 
state find itself confronted with the dangers aris- 
ing from a vacant throne. These fears were re- 
moved by the marriage of Prince Albert to a 
Princess of Bavaria in 1900, and by the subsequent 
birth of a prince, who bears the name of Leopold, 
and promises to become, in due course, the third 
ruler of his name. The continuance of the dy- 
nasty has been further ensured by the birth of a 
second prince quite recently. 

There is no reason, therefore, why Belgium 
should not long continue an hereditary monarchy 
in the family of the prince who took so prominent 
and honourable a part in founding her liberties. 
It is also a constitutional state, with safeguards 
against absolutism, and the monarch's power is 
strictly circumscribed by the Constitution. The 
consideration of this part of the subject can be 
best undertaken in another chapter, dealing more 
specifically with the politics of the country. The 



32 Belgian Life 

origin of modern Belgium has been described be- 
cause knowledge of the facts connected with it is 
essential to any useful acquaintance with the peo- 
ple or their country; but that would be a very 
shallow view to take of Belgium which arbitrarily 
decided to ignore all that preceded 1830, and to 
treat the Belgians as a nation which, at the 
furthest, only dates back to Waterloo. In na- 
tional spirit, as well as in their political privileges, 
to which the Constitution of 183 1 only gave a new 
form, the Belgians of to-day are the direct and 
natural representatives of the Flemish craftsmen, 
the proud burghers of Brabant, and the Walloons 
of lyiege and I^uxemburg. 




CHAPTER III 

TH^ I^KGISI^ATURK AND THEJ EI.KCTORATK 

THE Belgian Constitution presented on Feb- 
ruary 7, 1 83 1, to the National Congress, 
and accepted by it with unanimity, is chiefly re- 
markable for having proclaimed and established 
the complete liberty of the people in all the de- 
partments of civil activity. It decreed freedom of 
conscience, of education, of the Press, and also the 
right of meeting. As a constitution it was far in 
advance of any system existing on the Continent, 
and the lapse of seventy years has not rendered 
necessary any material change in its provisions. 
The changes introduced in 1894 related either to 
minor points, or to the important extension of the 
electoral vote. That is to say, the Constitution 
remained substantially unchanged while a re- 
markable alteration was introduced in the qualifi- 
cation and number of the electorate. The second 
change, in 1900, was merely the modification of 
the Electoral Law to the extent of subjecting the 
results of any election to a process of proportional 
representation for the protection of minorities. 
The Constitution provided that the Government 

33 



34 Belgian Life 

of the country should be formed by a King, a 
Senate, and a Chamber of Representatives. The 
King was to be a constitutional sovereign with 
defined powers, but with the throne hereditary in 
the male line of his family. The Senate was to 
consist of seventy-six elected members, and 
twenty-six nominated by the Provincial Councils, 
and the period of membership was to be for eight 
years. The Chamber was to contain one hun- 
dred and fifty-two Representatives, elected for a 
period of four years, but retiring in sections at the 
end of every two years. No one can become a 
Senator before he is forty, or a Deputy under 
twenty-five. An appeal to the country, which 
could only be made by the King, of course en- 
tailed the evacuation of every seat pending re- 
election. Sons of the King, or Princes of the 
Belgian royal house, become members of the Sen- 
ate by right of birth, on arriving at the age of 
eighteen, but they have no vote before they are 
twenty-five. Until the revision in 1894, the quali- 
fications of electors were fixed by Article 47 as 
follows: (i) owners of ^80 in the funds; (2) prin- 
cipal occupier of a house valued in large towns at 
not less than ;^ioo, and in villages at ;^5o; (3) 
holders of diplomas and certificates; and (4) those 
who pass, after attaining their majority, an ex- 
amination. By this system the electoral body 
was small and exclusive, and Belgium presented 
the anomaly of a perfectly free country, ruled by 
only the upper class of citizens. These qualifica- 



Legislature and Electorate 35 

tions were simplified, by the Act of 1893, i^^o the 
following comprehensive definition: "All Bel- 
gians (males) are entitled to one vote on attaining 
the age of twenty-five, and on having resided in 
the same commune for one year." The electorate 
was thus increased so as to include the larger half 
of the nation. Important modifications and ad- 
ditions were also introduced into the system in 
1894 that will require fuller explanation. The 
revision of this year covered a somewhat wider 
ground than the qualification of the electorate, 
although its salient feature was the extension of 
the franchise. The first constitution related ex- 
clusively to Europe, and had not contemplated 
the possibility of Belgium having colonies or pos- 
sessions beyond the sea. The formation of the 
Congo State, with its possible reversion to Bel- 
gium, altered the position. A new Article was 
introduced to the effect that the garrisons of such 
possessions must be composed of volunteers. An- 
other Article strengthened the hands of the Sov- 
ereign by providing that the prince who married 
without his consent should forfeit all his rights. 
The Constitution of 1831 had made Belgium a 
constitutional monarchy, and the subsequent Ar- 
ticles of Agreement with Prince I^eopold had fixed 
the succession in the heirs male of that Prince; 
but nothing was said as to what would happen if 
the situation should arise when there were no 
** heirs male." A new Article, No. 61, was ac- 
cordingly introduced, providing that ' * in default 



36 Belgian Life 

of male heirs the King can nominate his successor 
with the assent of the two Chambers; and if no 
such nomination has been made the throne shall 
be vacant." The apprehension which led to the 
insertion of this Article has now been allayed in 
a natural manner by the marriage of the heir 
presumptive. 

The payment of members of the Representative 
Chamber rendered necessary by its becoming 
more democratic, was fixed at four thousand 
francs (;^i6o) a year, with a free pass on the rail- 
ways between their constituencies and Brussels. 
Senators, however, remained unpaid, but have 
the same privilege as Representatives on the rail- 
ways. These minor changes were quite over- 
shadowed by the important addition of the plural 
vote, which formed the striking and original fea- 
ture of the revision of 1894. Up to that date the 
Belgian citizen who possessed the necessary 
property qualification had a single vote. In 1893, 
there were 137,772 voters. The Socialists loudly 
demanded universal sufirage — the simple formula, 
one man, one vote — the concession of which it 
was, and is still, feared would sweep away all the 
established political landmarks in the country. 
At the same time it had become clear that the old 
exclusive system could no longer be maintained. 
It was useless assuring the Belgians that they oc- 
cupied the freest country in Europe, so long as 
the great majority of them did not possess a vote. 
Something had to be done to satisfy the people, 



Legislature and Electorate 37 

and at the same time to save society from the real 
or imaginary perils which it perceived ahead, 
through an increase of the electorate. Various 
suggestions were made in the spring of 1893, but 
none of these found favour until M. Beernaert 
brought forward his resolution in favour of the 
establishment of the plural vote. The state of 
the country, in which strikes and disorders pre- 
vailed, lent emphasis to the argument that some- 
thing must be done to avert grave trouble. M. 
Beernaert' s scheme, by removing the property 
qualification, gave every Belgian a vote on reach- 
ing the age of twenty-five, and by his ingenious 
addition of extra votes for certain qualifications, 
which doubled or trebled the voting strength of 
the wealthy and educated classes, he provided a 
safeguard against Socialism. He thus satisfied 
popular opinion for the moment, and allayed the 
fears of society at the same time. His resolution 
was carried by the overwhelming majority of one 
hundred and nineteen to fourteen, and became 
a law in April, 1894. 

A brief statement of the qualifications of elec- 
tors will make the matter clear to the reader. 
Every Belgian citizen, on reaching the age of 
twenty-five, is entitled to one vote in any com- 
mune in which he has resided for twelve months. 
One extra vote is given to every elector on reach- 
ing the age of thirty-five, provided that he is mar- 
ried or, if a widower, has legitimate children, and 
provided that he pays five francs of personal taxa- 



38 Belgian Life 

tion, or !s exempted from such payment by reason 
of his profession. Two extra votes are given to 
any elector who is proprietor of real estate, with 
a minimum cadastral revenue of forty-eight 
francs, or who has an investment in State stock, 
or the State Savings Bank, producing one hun- 
dred francs annually. The two extra votes are 
given also to any elector, (i) holding certain di- 
plomas set forth in Article 17, or (2) filling 
Government offices and professional situations 
enumerated in Article 19. The maximum num- 
ber of votes under any heads, separate or collect- 
ive, is three. The result of this measure was 
that the number of voters increased from 137,772 
in 1893, to 1,354,891 in 1895, and the voters in 
the latter year represented 2,085,605 votes. As 
the new law also made voting obligatory, all elec- 
tions would have to be decided by a full poll. 
The consequences of this law were not precisely 
what its author anticipated. M. Beernaert con- 
ceived it to be a Liberal measure, which would di- 
minish the power of the Catholic Right, contribute 
to the more equal distribution of political power 
between the several parties, and in the end 
strengthen the Liberal centre. At the time of the 
passing of the measure, the Chamber contained 93 
Catholics and 59 Liberals of all shades of opinion. 
In the Senate were 72 Catholics and 30 Liberals. 
A Catholic administration had held office for over 
ten years. The balance of parties, after the elec- 
tion of 1896, was as follows: 112 Catholics, 12 



Legislature and Electorate 39 

I^iberals, and 28 Socialists. In the Senate the 
figures were 70 Catholics, 31 Liberals, and i So- 
cialist. The Catholic Government is still in 
power, and the hopes of establishing a strong cen- 
tral party between it and the Socialist are still un- 
realised. On the other hand, the Socialists have 
increased in numbers, and have taken as their po- 
litical cries universal suffrage, and **one man, one 
vote," which means the abolition of the plural 
vote which has come to be regarded as the safe- 
guard of Belgian society. 

The next and last constitutional reform arose 
out of the main result of the Electoral Law of 
1894, which had confirmed and strengthened the 
Catholic ascendency. The originator of that law 
had always intended to supplement it by a meas- 
ure in favour of proportional representation, that 
is to say, for the protection of minorities, and, if 
his party had not deserted him, he would have 
carried a law in 1894 to that effect. At last, in 
1899, the necessity of effecting some change in the 
return of representatives was generally admitted. 
The session of that year was marked by stormy 
scenes, during which several ministers resigned, 
including M. Vandenpeereboom, the head of the 
Government. The scenes in the Chamber found 
their counterpart in the streets, and the threats of 
the Socialists pointed under a thin veil to revolu- 
tionary proceedings. It is unnecessary to go into 
the particulars of the discussions that attended 
the passing into law of the system called propor- 



40 Belgian Life 

tional representation. It will suffice to describe 
here what it is as completing the electoral system 
of Belgium . The result of the plural vote having 
been to confirm the Catholic party's ascendency, 
to strengthen the Socialists who took the place in 
the Chamber of the Extreme Left, and to weaken 
the Liberals, it naturally followed that the last 
named were eager for a change that would bring 
them nearer to the power they had enjoyed under 
the limited electorate down to 1884. The victory 
of proportional representation was prepared by 
the application of the system to communal elec- 
tions, and in 1899- 1900 it was extended to the 
election of the national representatives. By this 
system Belgium was partitioned into a number of 
electoral districts, and each district has the num- 
ber of its members apportioned in accordance with 
the total strength of each party or political pro- 
gramme in that district. As a rule, there are only 
the three chief parties, but the presence of Catho- 
lic-Democrats, or other factions, may raise the 
number to four, or even five. The number of 
seats held is divided by the number of parties or 
opposing candidates, and then distributed in the 
proportion of the total followers of each. The 
smallest minority, therefore, is sure of one seat. 
Sanguine Liberals predicted beforehand that this 
system would practically equalise parties, and es- 
timated the strength of the Chamber to be re- 
turned in 1900 at 80 Catholics and 72 Liberals and 
Socialists combined, independent of the results in 



Legislature and Electorate 41 

the fourteen new seats created. Others thought 
it would make little or no change except to trans- 
fer some Socialist seats to the Liberals. The 
returns, including the fourteen new seats, which 
raised the total of representatives to i66, gave the 
following as the strength of the three parties, 
after the first election under proportional repre- 
sentation held in May, 1900: — 95 Catholics, 35 
Liberals, 34 Socialists, and two Catholic-Demo- 
crats. In that year there were 1,452,232 voters, 
possessing 2,239,621 votes. 

If the Belgian Constitution, drafted in a time 
of great emergency, has only required modifica- 
tion in matters which the increase of population 
and the march of democratic ideas have brought 
up in every country, it is because it was based on 
the principles of a very comprehensive and unfet- 
tered liberty. The hopes of 183 1 were more than 
fulfilled. In 1856, on the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of the formation of the kingdom of Belgium, it 
was declared that "the King had neither violated 
one of its laws, nor assailed one of its liberties, 
nor given any legitimate cause of complaint to any 
of our fellow-citizens. In the midst of commo- 
tions which have shaken so many governments 
Belgium has remained faithfully attached to her 
prince, and to the institutions bestowed upon 
her." Partly to the merits of her Constitution, 
partly to the tact of her first King, Belgium es- 
caped the troubles of 1848. She has, indeed, had 
no serious internal troubles in the seventy odd 



42 Belgian Life 

years of lier national history. The general strike 
of 1893 ^^^ the disorders of 1899, however, dis- 
agreeable at the time, and perhaps ominous for 
the future, were merely passing incidents, not en- 
titled to rank as grave national dangers. 

Latterly there has arisen a cloud on the horizon 
of Belgian political life in the Socialist party. 
Socialism is a spectre in other Continental states, 
and it was regarded with apprehension in Bel- 
gium long before there was a Socialist Deputy in 
the Chamber. Perhaps it was more dangerous 
before it could send thirty loud and angry voices 
to disturb the harmony of the Palace of the Na- 
tion. Its programme is still summed up in one 
phrase and one chief demand, the concession of 
the principle of universal suffrage. As, however, 
so much is said and written about the programme 
of the Socialists, and of the dangers that would 
follow from its realisation, it may be as well to 
give a summary of its purport. In the first place, 
it demands universal suffrage for both sexes over 
twenty-one years of age; some of the Socialists 
have since modified their opinion on the enfran- 
chisement of women and would abandon the 
clause relating to the voting of women. The 
next claims are the abolition of the plural vote 
and of the Senate. So far the points are political. 
The social demands are more serious; among 
them, State support of all children attending 
schools; freedom of justice, the State to bear all 
costs; salaries, the maxima and minima, as well 



Legislature and Electorate 43 

as the hours of labour to be fixed by law and 
scheduled; and all mines and forests to be public 
property, and worked for the benefit of the peo- 
ple. This is the programme of the party led by 
M. Vandervelde, and as it is directed against the 
rights of property and capitalists it can easily be 
imagined how hateful the mere name of Socialist 
is to the moneyed classes. Curiously enough, M. 
Vandervelde, the Socialist leader, is a wealthy man 
himself and rather appreciative of the good things 
of this world. Some of his opponents have sug- 
gested that he should carry out his own theories 
by subdividing his property among his followers. 
All the Socialist programme, however, must 
not be pronounced shadowy and unattainable. 
A wise Conservative administration would not de- 
lay in making concessions on reasonable points 
such as the hours of labour, and by these conces- 
sions it would do much to remove existing dis- 
satisfaction. With regard to the plural vote, it 
must be evident that it constitutes a system that 
cannot permanently endure. It was the tempo- 
rary expedient of a society easily frightened by 
the raising of spectres, and it has secured a lull 
until men's minds become more reasonable and 
tranquil. How long it will continue in force no 
one can pretend to know, but the consideration 
that makes it impossible to regard it as a perma- 
nent feature in Belgium's political system is that 
it is based on distrust of the Belgian people them- 
selves. The day must come when the Belgians, 



44 Belgian Life 

who enjoy so perfect an equality in most respects, 
will insist on their having also an equal power in 
voting. The very failure of proportional repre- 
sentation to seriously diminish the Catholic 
majority, or even to shake its long retained as- 
cendency, makes this result all the more certain, 
and brings the change nearer. 

Nevertheless, there is no immediate likelihood 
of the existing Chamber voting what it would 
consider its own destruction any more than there 
is of the Socialists gaining a majority at the elec- 
tions under the present system. Things will go 
on in the present temporising fashion until the 
opinion of the country has become formed as to 
fresh issues. The Socialists may never be able to 
put their programme into force; but, on the other 
hand, they are prevented from abandoning it, be- 
cause their followers would resent it as an act of 
treachery. They have attained political impor- 
tance, partly by asserting the legitimate rights of 
labour, and partly by taking advantage of the de- 
plorable ignorance of the masses who have sup- 
ported them. What that ignorance is may be 
gathered from the incident that, when the troubles 
of 1893 occurred, the mot d'ordre was given out 
that the miners of the Borinage were to go into 
Charleroi to bring back Universal Suffrage. Ac- 
cordingly, each woman provided herself with a bag 
or a basket, and when they reached Charleroi they 
replied, to those who asked them why they carried 
this article, that " it was to bring back the S. U." 



Legislature and Electorate 45 

The recognised leaders of the Socialist party are 
Messrs. Vandervelde, I^orand, and Anseele. Of 
these, M. Vandervelde, long considered the lead- 
ing orator in the Chamber, has been already men- 
tioned. That he is not devoid of caution was 
shown in 1899, when he arrested the development 
of the Socialist outbreak with the caustic remark 
that the revolvers of his followers would be of 
little avail against the Mausers of the Garde 
Civique. M. I^orand is a good debater, but as he 
is opposed to everything, he is a destructive, and 
not a creative, politician. M. Anseele is the most 
extreme of all the Socialist deputies. His ha- 
rangues indicate the man of action rather than the 
orator. He has more of the stuff of a mob-leader, 
if acts were substituted for words, than either of 
his colleagues. 

At the same time there are reasons for thinking 
that the worst danger from Socialism in Belgium 
has passed by, not because the Socialist pro- 
gramme has undergone any change, but because 
safeguards have been provided against its realisa- 
tion. These are of two kinds. In the Chamber 
itself the return of the I^iberal party in consider- 
ably increased numbers, which places it on an 
equality with the Socialists, and with the addition 
of several new men of undoubted ability and 
promise, as the result of the 1900 election, has 
imposed some restraint on the Socialist members. 
The lyiberals operate to some extent as a brake, 
on the extreme violence of the most advanced 



46 Belgian Life 

section of the Chamber. The presence of gifted 
orators, such as M. Paul Hymans and M. Huys- 
mans have proved themselves to be, imposes a 
limit to the authority of M. Vandervelde, whose 
influence through the fervour of his language was 
felt even by his opponents. The second safe- 
guard is of a more definite character. In 1892-3, 
when the outbreak of Socialism was more violent, 
the forces at the disposal of the authorities w^ere 
insufficient, and if its leaders had realised the 
weakness and unpreparedness of the Govern- 
ment at that moment a revolution might have 
been brought to a temporarily successful issue. 
Warned by this experience, the Government de- 
termined not to be caught napping again, and in 
the following year it organised the Garde Civique. 
This step was tantamount to arming the bourgeois 
class in its own self-defence. There is no doubt 
whatever that this body of armed citizens would, 
on any serious occasion arising, deal promptly and 
resolutely with all rioters in the chief cities. It 
may be compared to the force of special constables 
organised in London on any great emergency, 
with this important difference, that its members 
are armed with rifles and bayonets instead of 
staves. The recent addition to the army of fifteen 
thousand professional or long-service soldiers as 
volunteers will add greatly to the trustworthiness 
of the army in times of civil disturbance and effec- 
tually dispel the growing Socialist hope that the 
youthful conscripts would not fire upon them. 



Legislature and Electorate 47 

It is safe to say, none the less, that the Belgian 
Constitution has answered its main object, which 
was to keep the Flemings and Walloons joined to- 
gether in one state, and to ensure that its form of 
government should be an hereditary monarchy. 
The country has been exceedingly^ fortunate in 
weathering both internal and external perils dur- 
ing three quarters of a century, and the one seri- 
ous danger that has revealed itself from Socialism 
is less acute than it was a few years ago. The 
praise that has been lavished upon it by the pub- 
lic men of Belgium, read in the light of history, 
does not appear ill-deserved or excessive. The 
revision of 1893-4 removed some doubtful points 
and added new clauses to meet fresh circum- 
stances. Even if the laws applying to the dis- 
covery and manifestation of public opinion have 
to be further modified at some future date, by the 
abolition of the plural vote and the adoption of 
universal suffrage, the Constitution would not 
need any alteration so long as Belgium remains 
** a constitutional and hereditary kingdom." 





CHAPTKR IV 

th:k court and society 

THE Court of Belgium, although it was created 
under what might almost be called popular 
influences, has established as severe an etiquette 
as exists at larger and older courts with historical 
associations and an inherited ceremonial. This 
tendency was certainly increased under the influ- 
ence of the two successive queens, Marie lyouise 
of the House of Orleans, and Marie Henriette of 
that of Hapsburg. The first King was a great 
upholder of the monarchical dignity, and, during 
a long period of his reign, showed it by keeping 
himself in a state of seclusion from his Ministers. 
He was never easily accessible to any one. Such 
a charge cannot be brought against his son, King 
Leopold II., who is sometimes accused of being 
too easily accessible, because he wishes to see men 
with his own eyes, and to judge them and the 
public questions with which they are connected, 
for himself. But, notwithstanding this personal 
condescension, the regulation of Court ceremonial 
has been just as strict under the second Leopold 
as under the first. The seat of the Belgian 
48 



The Court and Society 49 

Court is the Palace of Brussels, facing the park, 
at the opposite extremity of which stand the 
*' Palais de la Nation " and some of the Govern- 
ment offices. Despite its plain exterior, its interior 
is bright and attractive, and the throne-room is 
one of the finest in Europe. The palace was built 
in the middle of the eighteenth century by the 
Austrian Archduchess Marie Christine. The old 
palace of Brussels, known either as the Castle of 
Caudenberg, or as the Palace of Brabant, in 
which the Duchess of Parma received the cele- 
brated Protest of the Beggars, was destroyed by 
fire in 1 73 1. It occupied the ground now covered 
by the Place Royale, and its extensive grounds in- 
cluded the site of the present palace, the park, 
and much of the boulevards. Prince Charles of 
I^orraine, during his long governorship, resided 
in the Palais de Nassau, the residence of William 
of Orange, which has now been converted into 
the record office, library, and museum of modern 
pictures. During the Dutch regime the present 
Palace of Brussels, was occupied by the Prince 
of Orange. At present the palace is flanked on 
one side by the somewhat unsightly building 
which was formerly the residence of the D' Assche 
family, but which is now used as the office of the 
Civil I^ist, the rooms and stables of the guard 
intervening between the two buildings. At the 
other end of the facade is the Hotel Bellevue, the 
proximity of which is certainly incongruous with 
the dignity of a palace. It was constructed at the 



50 Belgian Life 

same time as the palace, under a favourable lease 
granted by the Empress Maria Theresa, and in 
external aspect harmonises with the palace. An 
arrangement for the acquisition of this hotel has 
recently been made on behalf of the King of the 
Belgians. It has thus become possible to extend 
the front of the palace from the old Hotel d'Assche 
to the corner of the Rue Royale, which will allow 
of the expansion of the existing palace into one of 
the finest royal residences in Europe. A law was 
passed in the summer of 1903 for the necessary 
appropriation of land, including a portion of the 
park. 

The Brussels palace is used as the official head- 
quarters of the Sovereign, rather than as a resi- 
dence for the King. The Court receptions at the 
New Year, and all royal banquets or other enter- 
tainments, are held there, and the official work 
of the King, in his dual capacity of Belgian ruler 
and Sovereign of the Congo State, is performed in 
this building. The Court officials — the Court 
Grand Marshal, the King's Private Secretary, 
and the Superintendent of the Civil List — are also 
located in the palace. But the residence of the 
royal family is at the chdteau of Laeken, which 
stands in a fine park to the north of Brussels, and 
about four miles from the palace. The old 
chdteau, which was a favourite residence of the 
first Napoleon, and which was made historically 
famous as the place from which he dated the order 
for the Russian campaign, was destroyed by fire 



The Court and Society 51 

in 1889, though it was soon rebuilt on the same 
spot. I^aeken is more remarkable for its orangery 
and glass-houses than for the chdteau itself, al- 
though the new additions to the main building 
may in a few years alter this description. In the 
lifetime of the late Queen of the Belgians, the two 
garden-parties given at Laeken always marked 
the close of the Brussels season. One of the most 
popular excursions of the Brussels citizens at the 
end of the summer is the visit to the lyaeken con- 
servatories and gardens, which are opened to the 
public for a certain number of days after the Court 
has gone into the country to Spa or Ostend. 
There are reports that it is proposed to add con- 
siderably to the size of the chdteau at Laeken, but 
its charm will always be its rural position on the 
verge of a great city. 

Other royal residences in Belgium are the royal 
chalet at Ostend, the late Queen's villa at Spa, and 
the chdteau of Ciergnon. Of these only the first 
is in regular use, and it is the King's favourite 
summer residence. The villa at Spa was left by 
the Queen to the controller of her household, and 
has ceased to be a royal residence. A new royal 
residence is being built at Ostend, and when it is 
completed the old chalet will be devoted to some 
public use. The chdteau of Ciergnon, beautifully 
situated on the Lesse, has not been occupied for 
many years, but its situation, in close proximity 
to the royal preserves at Villers, will make it a fa- 
vourite residence again whenever the sovereign 



52 Belgian Life 

happens to be fond of sport. The present King, 
unlike his father, has never taken any interest in 
covert or any other shooting. The Comte de 
Flandre, the King's only brother, has a fine palace 
in the Rue de la Regence, facing the Gallery of 
Old Masters, and also the Chateau des Amerois, 
with large coverts and wild-boar shooting, in the 
Ardennes, close to the French frontier. His son. 
Prince Albert, heir-presumptive to the Belgian 
throne, occupies a house in one of the fashionable 
squares, and has latterly used Ciergnon as a 
country seat. 

Society in Brussels is divided into several clearly 
distinguishable groups. There are, first of all, 
the few representatives left of the old Netherlands 
nobility, with their pedigrees and papers dating 
back to the Crusades and the founding of the 
order of the Golden Fleece in the Burgundian 
epoch. These families, restricting the list to those 
who have preserved their ancient importance, 
are those of De lyigne, D'Arenberg, Chimay, 
Croy, Merode, D'Assche, and I^alaing, Of these 
families De I^igne and D'Arenberg are more Aus- 
trian in the first case and German in the second 
than Belgian. The Prince de I<igne maintains a 
house in Brussels, the famous park at Beloeil, 
which is the cradle of his race, and a chdteaic de 
chasse in the Ardennes; but his palace is in 
Vienna, and his titles and honours are Imperial 
and Austrian. The Duke D'Arenberg represents 
in the female line the German family of his name, 



The Court and Society 53 

also a branch of the Croys, and still a third of the 
De la Marcks of the Ardennes, but in the male 
line he is a De lyigne. His favourite residences 
are in Germany, and his chief functions are those 
of an officer of the Garde du Corps. But he still 
keeps up a country place at Aerschot, and his 
residence at Brussels is the most famous private 
hotel or palace in the city, and was formerly well 
known to tourists for its picture gallery, but this 
has lately been removed to Germany. The Hotel 
D'Arenberg stands above the little square called 
the Petit Sablon. It is surrounded for the greater 
part by a high wall, which effectually conceals its 
extensive and well- wooded garden, in which there 
are several ponds. Part of the old building was 
destroyed in the fire of 1889, but the wing then 
saved, which represented the residence of the 
famous and splendour-loving Count Bgmont, has 
lately been demolished and rebuilt. A little 
farther up the Rue des Petits Carmes was the 
Hotel Culembourg, in which the famous Oath of 
the Beggars was taken in 1566. It has long been 
demolished, and the new barracks of the Grena- 
diers now stand on the spot which was formerly 
occupied by a convent, and afterwards by a 
prison. There have of late years been repeated 
rumours that the present Duke D'Arenberg con- 
templates selling his Brussels residence to the 
town, which is desirous of making some improve- 
ments in this quarter. It is probable that sooner 
or later this scheme will be carried out. 



54 Belgian Life 

The five other families in the list are more ex- 
clusively Belgian than the two great houses just 
named, which have their seats in other countries 
as well. They have not merely their estates in 
the country, but the careers of many of the scions 
of these families lie in its public service. They 
have held all the chief posts in the Government 
or the diplomatic service of the country. A 
Comte de Merode has been Prime Minister, and 
his grandfather was put forward as eligible for the 
office of first Belgian King or President in 1830. 
Prince de Carignan-Chimay was long Foreign 
Minister; and Count de leaking has just been ap- 
pointed Minister in lyondon. Others have proved 
that they are worthy descendants of the men 
whose names figured in the first list of the Golden 
Fleece. This small and exclusive set stands at 
the head of Belgian society. 

Other clear social divisions are composed of the 
officials, the haute finance, literature, and artists. 
Political personages enjoy no special consideration 
socially on account of their being members of the 
Legislature: indeed, it is rather the reverse. The 
majority of them are regarded as persons requir- 
ing or seeking emolument; those whose material 
prosperity is beyond doubt are held in some way 
to diminish their own importance by becoming 
Deputies. There are, of course, a few exceptions 
to this rule, as, for instance, in the case of M. 
Woeste, who is regarded by the Catholic party as 
sacrificing his own convenience for the benefit of 



The Court and Society 55 

the cause. These remarks do not apply either to 
the Senators, who are unpaid, conduct their pro- 
ceedings in a dignified manner, and have com- 
paratively little legislative work to occupy their 
time and attention. 

It is very different with the permanent officials 
of the great departments. Employment in the 
cabinets or secretariats of the chief offices is much 
sought for, and considerable social influence and 
position are needed to obtain admission into them. 
The permanent officials of Brussels are, therefore, 
a highly representative class, and contain in their 
ranks some of the best ability in the country. A 
leading English statesman once declared that the 
real rulers of England were the permanent officials. 
This remark might be applied with equal force to 
Belgium, in the sense that the officials, if not 
rulers, are the directors and manipulators of the 
Administration. An official who has risen to be 
head of a department has therefore a recognised 
place in society, and is often a welcome guest in 
the most exclusive set, where the financial mag- 
nate could never gain admission. It is certainly 
curious and not easily to be explained why this is 
so, but there is no disputing the fact that the 
bureaucrat occupies a place in the social scale su- 
perior to that of members of the bar and men of 
letters or art. The explanation is perhaps to be 
found in the wish to know what is going on, and 
the permanent official is supposed to be the de- 
pository of many secrets. But it is none the less 



56 Belgian Life 

the fact that, as an observant foreign member of 
the corps diplo7natique at Brussels once said to the 
present writer, * * At the dinners of the most ex- 
clusive families there will always be one official." 

Members of the bar, judges, and officers of the 
Army, as such, do not by virtue of their rank 
command the recognition that they receive in 
other countries. This is equally true of writers, 
artists, and musicians. The Belgians are not 
great readers, and perhaps this explains why lit- 
erature as a profession does not stand as high in 
their estimation as it ought to do. Music and 
painting are far more appreciated, and Belgians 
will even get enthusiastic about the works of 
their compatriots in these arts when the prose of 
the most graceful writer is practically ignored out- 
side his own comparatively small circle. But the 
painter and musician, however admired and ap- 
preciated, does not effect an entrance into society 
by right of his talent. As the consequence of this 
the successful painter generally quits Brussels for 
Paris, where all doors are opened to him, and the 
successful musician becomes cosmopolitan, spend- 
ing the greater portion of his year in the capitals 
of Europe and even of America. 

The members of the haute finayice form another 
set, or almost a colony, in the Belgian capital. 
Some of the largest fortunes in Europe com- 
menced in a very small and humble way at 
Brussels. The threads of many important under- 
takings might be traced to a single reel in that 



The Court and Society 57 

city. Some of the finest houses on the boulevards 
and in the avenues are occupied by men whose 
names are pillars of strength in the stock ex- 
changes of Europe. The majority of these 
financiers are Jews, not Belgians, and their pre- 
dominance in the world of finance almost revives 
the time in the great, age of Flemish prosperity, 
when **only Jews and Lombards were allowed to 
deal in money." As Belgium is essentially a 
business country, it naturally follows that the 
financial magnates of Brussels stand high in so- 
ciety. Their establishments are the best ap- 
pointed, their carriages and horses are the most 
showy, and their dinners and entertainments the 
choicest and most sought after in Brussels. Their 
influence is the greatest in the land — greater than 
that of the permanent officials, whose means are 
limited. But there are some circles into which all 
their wealth will not gain them admission, and 
among the mass of the bourgeois classes there is 
felt for them a strong and increasing dislike, which 
may one day develop dangerous tendencies. It is 
quite a common complaint to hear Belgian journ- 
alists and politicians declare that their country is 
being exploited by the Jews. There is, of course, 
no real truth in this assertion, but certainly the 
Jews are not popular among the Catholics. 

In addition to Brussels societj^ the three im- 
portant cities, Antwerp, Liege, and Ghent, have 
social sets of their own, each marked by special 
features and characteristics. At Antwerp the rich 



58 Belgian Life 

merchants who inhabit the fine mansions along 
the avenues that have been laid out over the site 
of the old enceinte entertain hospitably, and give 
the tone to the life and fashion of the place. The 
society is mainly Flemish, and employs that lan- 
guage in familiar conversation. At Ghent and 
Liege the social magnates are manufacturers 
rather than merchants. At Ghent, where society 
is more exclusively Flemish than at Antwerp, 
there are still to be seen the residences of some of 
the old Flemish families which constituted the 
civic nobihty of the cities of Flanders, and in 
which the dignities of sheriff and burgomaster 
had become hereditary. The governors of the 
Flemish provinces are carefully selected from their 
ranks, and such names as Liedekerke, Ryhove, 
and Van Kerckove preserve to the present age 
families which were prominent in the days of the 
Arteveldes. At Liege, society is just as pro- 
nounced from the Walloon point of view. Here 
French is the language of society, and Flemish 
is never heard. The great source of wealth is 
manufacture, and the workshops which have 
turned Seraing and Liege itself into a vast con- 
geries of chimneys and furnaces support a con- 
siderable society in a state of luxury. At Liege, 
unlike Ghent and Antwerp, a large number of 
the wealthy residents have villas and country 
houses outside the city, and consequently the 
streets of Liege do not present long rows of fine 
houses as at Antwerp. On the other hand, the 



-UT 




The Court and Society 59 

surrounding hills which make the Liege pano- 
rama so fine are dotted at frequent intervals with 
fine suburban residences in charming gardens. 
The prosperity of Liege is in no way behind its 
Western rivals, and Walloon society is quite as 
gay and hospitable as that of Flanders. It is 
said, however, that there is an increasing tend- 
ency among those who have made their fortunes 
or who have retired from the active direction of 
their business concerns to migrate to Brussels and 
to settle down in the capital, where the attractions 
are undeniably greater. 

Speaking generally, society throughout Bel- 
gium is controlled by local considerations, and 
even in the capital is not comprehensive of several 
sections of the community. Class keeps to class, 
profession to profession, interest to interest. 
There is the society of Brussels, which is partly 
noble, partly official, and partly financial. It has 
not yet assimilated literary, artistic, or even politi- 
cal elements. In the other great cities society 
is exclusively commercial and industrial. The 
Court life of Brussels is not of sufficient activity 
to provide an instrument for the fusion of classes. 
The occasions when the palace opens its doors 
are few. The formal receptions show the invited 
in groups, and in groups they remain. The 
State banquets are given to definite bodies — the 
Senate or the Chamber. The less formal din- 
ners have as their motive some business negotia- 
tion, or the discussion of an external question, 



6o Belgian Life 

which may relate to a railway in Africa or a con- 
cession in China. 

On the whole, however, society in Brussels 
manages to enjoy itself, and if the vie intime is 
simpler than in London or Paris, the social inter- 
course is on a sufficiently active scale to make the 
Brussels season a very gay one. It commences 
with the close of autumn and the return of the 
families from their holiday at the seaside or the 
country. A country trip, whether it lasts for 
three months, as with the leisured class, or for 
only a fortnight, as with the w^ell-to-do shop- 
keeper, is regarded as an indispensable condition 
of existence. All have returned by November, and 
the opera season has begun a month earlier and 
it continues until the following June. Lent im- 
poses a break on the round of festivities, and the 
very wealthy flit to the Riviera or the Cote d' Azur, 
as it is generally called in Belgium. After Easter 
the season reopens with renewed fervour for a 
short period. The drives down the Avenue 
Louise to the Bois de la Cambre, the gallops 
around the sinuous tracks made for horsemen 
between the alleys of lofty limes and sycamores, 
become more crowded, and are often continued 
further afield through the forest of Soignies to 
Groenendael or Tervueren. Of late years horse- 
racing has taken a firm hold on the public fancy, 
and the race-meetings in the Bois are frequented 
as much by the populace, which goes there by 
train or tram, as by society, which has its own 



The Court and Society 6i 

carriages and motor-cars. The popularity of the 
race-meeting, which was at first looked at askance 
by society, furnishes evidence of the scarcity of 
outdoor amusements. As the summer advances 
the outdoor concerts of the Vauxhall Gardens, 
which form part of the park, are substituted for 
the opera, and for the good people of Brussels, 
unable to prolong their villeggiatura beyond a 
fixed period, they provide an agreeable and never- 
failing attraction. Society has taken up in turn 
croquet, lawn- tennis, and ping-pong; but as its 
most favourite role is to find amusement without 
exertion, these games have had only a fleeting 
vogue and success. 




CHAPTER V 

BURGHEJR I.IFK IN BRUSSKI^ 

THE typical life of the Belgian people is per- 
haps to be found best revealed in the house- 
hold of the Brussels citizen. I^eaving aside the 
very small stratum of what may be called Society, 
the mode of life among the great body of citi- 
zens, above the working classes, is very much 
the same, notwithstanding differences of income, 
occupation, and education. Whether the head of 
the household be a lawyer or a trader, a manu- 
facturer or a shopkeeper who is well enough off to 
live away from his shop, there is less class differ- 
ence, so far as the daily routine of life goes, than 
would be found in any other European commun- 
ity. The explanation is, that at heart the Belgians 
are a simple people, whose chief characteristic, 
strengthened by harsh experience for many gen- 
erations, is thrift. There is a complete absence 
of all ostentatious display. It would be as impos- 
sible to estimate a man's income from the interior 
of his house as it would be to assign his profession 
or business from his appearance in the street. 
This appearance of equality is very largely due to 
62 



Burgher Life in Brussels 63 

the two not disconnected facts, that the first ob- 
ject with every Brussels citizen is to become pro- 
prietor of his own house, and that the houses of 
Brussels are built very much after the same pat- 
tern. This, of course, does not apply to the fash- 
ionable boulevards or the Avenue lyouise, but in 
all the by-streets and suburbs now spreading out 
in every direction, houses are being run up, lofty 
and narrow, all seemingly fashioned by the same 
architect. The Belgians have an aversion to be- 
ing mere tenants, regarding the payment of rent 
as so much loss of money; and a house, or the 
money to purchase one, is considered the best kind 
of dot that a young woman can bring to her hus- 
band. The price of a house containing seven rooms 
besides kitchen, runs from a thousand pounds in 
the fashionable suburbs like St. Gilles, to five hun- 
dred in the outer suburbs like Ktterbeck. There 
is, in addition, a tax of ten per cent, payable to 
the commune, with a share to the State, on the 
conclusion of the purchase. Having paid the price, 
the proprietor is practically relieved from all an- 
nual payments, for the taxes to the commune are 
exceedingly low, and do not amount to more than 
six per cent, on the estimated rent, which is about 
one eleventh of the purchase sum. Ten per cent, 
will pay the commune, the supply of water, and 
that of gas as well, and for this reason Brussels 
has been called the paradise of the small house- 
holder. There is no doubt that the free possession 
of a houce lies at the root of the Belgian citizen's 



64 Belgian Life 

comfort, and explains how, with a very small in- 
come, he can occupy a decent house which ex- 
ternally does not differ materially from one the 
occupant of which ma}^ have ten times his 
income. 

It is only on entering these houses that some 
idea can be formed of the status of the occupant. 
Among those families whose income is not in pro- 
portion to the exterior of their residence, the in- 
terior will reveal the fact by its bareness and 
absence of decoration, whereas those who are 
comfortably off will expend large sums on paint- 
ing and gilding. The Belgians are noted for their 
good taste in the way they decorate the inside of 
their houses, and as the house is really theirs, they 
do not mind spending very considerable sums in 
this way. It is the same with the furniture, 
which is always as good as the owner can afford 
in the reception-rooms. Every Belgian house has 
what may be called its show-rooms, and their con- 
tents will give the clue at once to the degree of 
prosperity the family has attained. There may 
be a thousand pounds' worth of furniture and 
objeis d'art in the room, or there may be only ten 
pounds' worth. In either case it is the best that 
the owners can show. 

There is one thing that these rooms have in 
common, no matter what the position of the occu- 
pant, and that is the air of being rarely used. It 
is more like the model-room into which the fur- 
niture provider invites his customer for the pur- 



Burgher Life in Brussels 65 

pose of deciding the style in which he proposes 
to furnish, than an actual living-room. The 
Belgian's first investment is to buy his house, 
and his second is to lay in a stock of furniture. 
As both are intended not merely to last a lifetime, 
but to be handed down in the family, the most 
scrupulous care is taken of every article. A 
shade of anxiety may be traced on the worthy 
owner's face if a visitor moves in a chair or 
brushes past a table. Sometimes these good 
people let a floor, often to English visitors, with 
the view of saving something for a holiday, or 
through some needed economy; and if the rooms 
are well furnished, the urgent request is made not 
to spoil the furniture {il ne faut pas abimer les 
meubles). I knew of a case where the iteration 
of this injunction became so irksome that the 
English tenants left twenty-four hours after 
entry, because they were afraid to sit on the 
chairs. 

Into the regular living-rooms no stranger is al- 
lowed to penetrate, but the casual opportunities 
afforded during long residence in the country en- 
able one to see that they are very bare and plain. 
As a rule, the dining-room is in close proximity 
to the kitchen, so that the necessary domestic ser- 
vice is reduced to a minimum. There is, of course, 
in most houses a dining-room upstairs, but this is 
only used on the very rare occasions when an en- 
tertainment of some sort is given. The Belgians 
are not prone to the display of much hospitality 



66 Belgian Life 

among themselves. They do not dine often at 
one another's houses. The members of the same 
family meet occasionally, but, as a rule, their din- 
ners in common are to celebrate some family 
event, such as a marriage, or an engagement, or 
a first communion. The case is practically un- 
known of taking a friend home to have ' * pot- 
luck." To do so would seriously disconcert the 
lady of the house, who is usually in niglige until 
she goes for her afternoon promenade. 

The life of the house, like the life of the whole 
country, begins at an early hour. By eight 
o'clock, probably every family in Brussels will 
have finished its breakfast, and in the vicinity of 
the markets in the lower town or in the com- 
munes, each of which has its market, the day's 
provisions will have been purchased as well. This 
early rising is indispensable, as all the offices, and 
in fact the whole business of the city, commence 
at nine punctually. This means that the person 
engaged must leave his house between eight and 
half-past, in accordance with the distance he has 
to travel; but as there are electric trams now in 
all directions, the journey, from even the outer 
suburbs, can generally be accomplished with 
much rapidity. The Belgians take only a light 
breakfast, which is almost universally cafe au lait, 
rolls and butter; but of late years the doctors have 
been recommending a more substantial meal, after 
the English fashion. Those who are not too 
pressed in the morning by their occupations are 



Burgher Life in Brussels 67 

now adding to their breakfast one or two dishes, 
but such luxuries, as they are called, are taken by 
but a very small number of persons. 

The offices close at twelve, and all business is 
stopped at that hour for the purpose of dining. 
The men, who have rushed off in the morning to 
be at their posts in good time, rush back to their 
houses at a still greater speed to enjoy the chief 
meal of the day. By this time the stimulating 
effect of the morning coffee has long worn off, and 
the bread-winners are simply faint and famishing. 
It is perilous to protract an interview with a Bel- 
gian official when the clock hand points to ten 
minutes to twelve. Politeness will scarcely pre- 
vent his displaying the anxiety and displeasure 
with which he begins to apprehend that some 
minutes of his cherished two hours are going to 
be poached from him. The best business in the 
country is done before eleven o'clock in the morn- 
ing. After that hour it is no exaggeration to say 
that the needs of exhausted nature begin to assert 
themselves. 

The mid-day meal, which commences as a gen- 
eral rule at half-past twelve, is the most substan- 
tial of the whole day. It is always a hot repast 
and is always begun with a soup. The Belgians 
are hearty, not to say great, eaters, and it takes a 
good hour to allay their hunger. The general 
drink is beer — wine is drunk rarely and sparingly 
— and a cup of black coffee is taken at the end as 
a digestive rather than as a stimulant, and then 



68 Belgian Life 

the journey is made back to the office or business, 
which resumes work at two o'clock. The work 
of the afternoon is done more leisurely than that 
of the morning, and consists chielly of the corre- 
spondence resulting from the transactions of the 
morning. The offices work late, always till six, 
and often till seven or after. Then the more or 
less weary toiler returns home to his supper, which 
is a simple meal, probably the remains of the din- 
ner, assisted with something purchased on the 
way back, from a charcutier. Having to get up 
so early, the Brussels citizen goes to bed in good 
time. Very soon after nine o'clock all the lights 
will be out in the ordinary household five nights 
out of the seven. The Belgian is not a reader; 
the morning and evening newspapers satisfy all 
his wants in that direction; hence there is nothing 
to keep him from his well-earned repose. 

The life au restaurant is a far less marked feat- 
ure in Brussels than in Paris. It is rather ex- 
pensive, even at the cheapest restaurants, and the 
family man will indulge in it only occasionally. 
Those whose work lies in the lower town, where 
the bourse and business offices are, sometimes are 
obliged to take their dinner in one of the numer- 
ous second-class restaurants off the Boulevard 
Anspach. In any of these a hot plat, with beer 
and coffee afterwards, can be obtained for a franc 
and a half In the same quarter of the town, but 
chiefly round the Grand' Place and the square of 
the Monnaie theatre, are some of the first restaur- 



Burgher Life in Brussels 69 

ants in the city: the Filet de Sole, the Riche, the 
Ktoile, no longer what it was in the reign of M. Dot, 
and the Gigot de Mouton. These are not so well 
known to the tourist as those in the upper town, 
e. g., Freres Provengaux, Regence, Globe, and 
Strobbe, the last named in the Avenue Louise. 
Fashion and excellence vary, suddenly and with- 
out apparent reason; but perhaps the best cooking 
in Brussels is now to be had at the Filet de Sole 
and the Provengaux, while at the Globe, which 
is far less expensive than either, the cuisine is sur- 
prisingly good. But if the Brussels paterfamilias 
does not habitually patronise the restaurant, he 
makes a great effort to dine out on Sunday even- 
ing, and to take the grown-up members of his 
family with him. He may not, in the majority 
of cases, be able to do this more than once a 
month, but during the summer he will probably 
patronise every week one or other of the cafes en- 
circling the Bois de la Cambre, and take his Sun- 
day supper with his family alfresco. Even if the 
repast is limited to one dish for himself and his 
wife, and tartines or gauffres for the children, he 
will sit there the whole-evening drinking, not im- 
moderately, light beer, such as gueuze lambeck or 
bock. It is a significant indication of the preva- 
lence of the same views of life throughout the 
nation, that while the humble citizen is enjoying 
himself in the less pretentious cafes, Society is do- 
ing very much the same thing on the terrace of 
the fashionable Laiterie in the Bois, or farther off 



70 Belgian Life 

at Groenendael, which is reached by a delightful 
drive through part of the old forest of Soignies. 
Then the concerts given in the Vauxhall Gardens 
by the orchestra of the opera are an additional 
attraction, and on Sundays in particular bring to- 
gether a large audience outside the enclosure. To 
get an idea of the real life of Brussels, one must 
go about the boulevards and to the popular resorts 
on Sunday evenings. Then the people can be 
seen enjoying themselves in their own quiet, un- 
demonstrative way, and if there is some music go- 
ing on, their contentment is complete. A band is 
maintained by the municipality, and plays daily 
in the park facing the palace. Military bands 
also play there occasionally, and in the Bois. 
The band of the regiment of Guides is first-rate, 
and has been heard in London and Paris. 

One of the most marked predilections of the Bel- 
gian character is his enthusiasm for music. Most 
nations are ruled by laws, but it would be easier 
to govern the Belgians by music. Every com- 
mune, not merely in Brussels but throughout 
Belgium, has its band or sy^nphonie, and most of 
those of any size or importance have two, for po- 
litics come into the question. There will be the 
Catholic Band and the Liberal Band, and even 
the Socialists — with a programme destructive of 
everything else that is national — conform to the 
popular feeling, and march to the sound of drums 
and trumpets. The chief or at least the most fre- 
quent occasion for the public appearance of these 



Burgher Life in Brussels 71 

bands is for the funeral of some old or prominent 
resident, when the symphonie communale will at- 
tend and lead the procession to the strains of the 
Dead March. But in their own halls they always 
give one or two concerts in the course of the year. 

Bearing in mind this trait, it is not surprising 
that the opera is exceedingly popular. Theatre 
de la Monnaie is an opera house, not a theatre, 
and is noted for the excellence of its orchestra 
and general management. It has a remarkably 
long season, beginning in October and going on 
without interruption to May. A very fair com- 
pany is attached to the theatre, and occasionally 
singers with a European reputation are engaged 
for a time. This is especially the case after Easter. 
Formerly, dibutantes of exceptional promise rather 
inclined to the Monnaie as the scene for their first 
appearance, because they might feel sure that, if 
they had the least claim to merit, the appreciative 
Brussels audience would give them a cordial 
greeting; and in the event of failure none would 
be more indulgent. 

Brussels is well known in the musical world 
for its excellent College of Music, and, indeed, 
the facilities for studying music in all its 
branches are great, and to be enjoyed at a 
very reasonable charge, any Belgian student of 
promise paying nothing at all. For this reason 
many English and other foreign families take up 
their residence in Brussels, and send their sons or 
daughters to the Conservatoire, in the Rue de la 



72 Belgian Life 

Regence, where they have to pay only eight 
pounds a year. This institution enjoys a State 
subsidy, and is more or less under State direction, 
showing that the Government recognises the im- 
portant place music has in the estimation of the 
public. The concerts given by the students at the 
end of each term, in connection with the distribu- 
tion of prizes, are attended by great crowds. 
Owing to the large number of persons interested, 
tickets are distributed only to the relatives of the 
students attending the college. A large number 
of Conservatoire certificate-holders have become 
subsequently famous in the ranks of musicians 
and singers. Concerts are given occasionally by 
Monsieur Ysaye and other well-known performers 
at the Salle d' Harmonic, at the bottom of the Mon- 
tague de la Cour; and, when that hall is too small 
for the audience expected, in the large theatre 
called the Alhambra. There is not a house ex- 
clusively reserved for light opera in Brussels, but 
the Monnaie has of late years somewhat extended 
its programme from its old restricted cultivation 
of the grand opera. 

There are a considerable number of theatres in 
Brussels, but not one that could be singled out as 
the thesitre par excellence of the city. A national 
theatre is, indeed, a conspicuous want in the 
capital of Belgium, and it is surprising that the 
State, which looks after most things, has never 
thought of supplying one. In the upper town 
there are only two theatres, both very small, viz., 



Burgher Life in Brussels 73 

the Pare, which is the more fashionable, and the 
Moliere, near the Porte de Namur. In the lower 
town there are half a dozen or more, none very- 
distinguished, and all devoted to light comedy. 
The drama is sometimes to be seen at the Alham- 
bra, and the Flemings have a theatre of their own, 
in which a play of the great days of old, like 
Thys van Uylenspiegel sometimes creates a sensa- 
tion. As a rule, the theatres arouse but languid 
interest, if compared with the opera, unless the 
latest Paris success flits northward to amuse and 
attract the Belgians for a short spell. 

One of the most striking features of Brussels is 
the long avenue, bordered with two rows of noble 
lime trees, which forms the centre of the boule- 
vard in the upper town, forming a half-circle, 
from the top of the Jardin Botanique to the Porte 
de Hal. These trees were planted by Prince 
Charles of Lorraine, in the middle of the eigh- 
teenth century. At that time the old walls of the 
town followed the same curve as this avenue, and 
immediately beyond it. After the war of inde- 
pendence the walls were demolished and several 
new quarters were constructed, such as the fine 
Rue de la Loi, and the Quartier Leopold. Less 
than thirty years ago the Avenue Louise was 
completed with its promenade of one mile and a 
half under limes and chestnuts, its ride for the 
same distance, and the broad carriage drive be- 
tween. Part of the roadway is occupied by the 
electric tram-line. The avenue is bordered on 



74 Belgian Life 

each side by fine modern houses, many of them in 
a blue grained stone, which is very effective. 
Although these houses are quite modern, and con- 
tain many improvements which are not to be 
found in the houses of the older quarters of the 
town, the Quartier Louise is not so fashionable as 
the Quartier Leopold. On the other hand, the 
former contains the bulk of the English colony, 
and its fine gravel soil adds greatly to its reputa- 
tion for healthfulness. The Avenue Louise ter- 
minates at the entrance to the Bois, and it runs in 
a southerly direction, parallel with the road that 
leads to Waterloo. Within the last six years an- 
other fine avenue has been laid out in an easterly 
direction to the Park of Tervueren. This avenue 
is really a prolongation of the Rue de la Loi, be- 
yond the grounds of the Cinquantenaire, where 
the last exhibition was held. It is about six miles 
long, and a large number of handsome houses 
have been constructed for a considerable distance 
along the route. When all the arrangements 
have been completed, it will be one of the finest 
drives in Brussels. There is an electric tramway 
along the avenue to Tervueren, which was once a 
royal park. It is now occupied by the Congo 
Museum, and excursions there are very popular. 
There are some fine woods and several large lakes 
in the grounds. The old castle of Tervueren was 
the country seat of the Dukes of Brabant, and in 
the Abbey Church hard by many of them were 
buried. Half-way the route is intersected by the 



Burgher Life in Brussels 75 

road to Groenendael, which eventually arrives at 
the village of Waterloo. 

For a city which, with its suburbs, contains not 
much over half a million people, Brussels covers 
an immense extent of ground, and as the tendency 
of the inhabitants is to move out into the suburbs, 
a rapid and cheap means of conveyance is abso- 
lutely essential. This has been provided in the 
admirable service of electric trams which run in 
all directions. Without these it would be quite 
impossible for so large a number of the Brussels 
population to live at a distance of three or four 
miles, and even more, from their work. No one 
who has enjoyed the facilities of getting about in 
Brussels can have failed to regret that lyondon has 
not been provided with some similar means of 
locomotion. Insular prejudice has kept the anti- 
quated horse-bus on the streets for twenty years 
after the introduction of the electric tram on the 
Continent; and even now that a change is prac- 
tically decided, the prejudice against laying down 
a tram-line in the streets is so great that motor- 
omnibuses are to be allowed to pursue their inde- 
pendent tracks at the discretion of their drivers — 
expert or inexpert, cool or nervous — through the 
crowded thoroughfares of I^ondon, instead of 
adopting the simplest and safest system. The 
Brussels trams work in a regular fashion, without 
interfering in the least with the vehicular traffic. 
The driver keeps his finger incessantly on the 
alarum-bell, and at first the continuous noise 



76 Belgian Life 

offends the ear, especially in the more narrow- 
streets; but this soon passes off, and the "kling- 
ting ' ' of the tram-car attracts no more notice than 
the jar of the omnibus along the roads in London. 
Indeed, the noise of a heavy waggon on the paved 
streets is far greater and more difficult to get ac- 
customed to. I remember when I first went to 
Brussels saying to a Belgian gentleman that the 
Brussels streets were very noisy, whereupon 
he rejoined, "And so are London streets." It 
seemed to me at the time that he was quite 
mistaken, and even that he had said something 
absurd; but when I returned to London some 
months later, I found the noise far worse than the 
noisiest Brussels street, which is evidence in its 
way of how thoroughly one gets accustomed to 
whatever goes on around. 

The main electric tram-line in Brussels is that 
which connects the Northern and Southern rail- 
way-stations by the upper boulevards. These 
stations are on the same level, and between them 
run the broad boulevards of Anspach and Hai- 
naut. By this direct road, paved with asphalt, 
the distance is about one mile and a half; 
whereas by the route followed it is over five miles. 
At the Porte de Namur and the Porte Louise there 
are cross routes, both starting from Schaerbeek, 
and proceeding either to the Bois or to Uccle, a 
suburb at the end of the Chaussee de Charleroi. 
One of these routes passes in front of the King's 
Palace, while the other continues across the Place 




^ ^^ 0^:1 



Burgher Life in Brussels ^^ 

Royale, down the Rue de la Regence to the Palais 
de Justice, and then up the Avenue lyouise. 
Among other important lines may be mentioned 
that down the Rue de la I^oi to the Cinquante- 
naire, and the line starting at the back of the 
Chambers for Tervueren. There is another line 
by the Chaussee of Waterloo to a point not far 
from that village which is, however, four miles 
from the I^ion. Besides these regular tramways 
there are still some horse-omnibus routes, a few 
running along rails, between the upper and lower 
towns, as well as along the lower boulevards; but 
during the summer of 1903 an electric tram was 
laid between the two stations, and continued to 
Laeken. The tram-lines are admirably managed, 
and the fares are cheap. Each carriage is divided 
into two compartments — first and second class — 
and the platform at each end is also used for pas- 
sengers. There is a driver and a ticket collector 
to each car; but when the train is made up of two 
carriages, as is generally the case, there is only 
one driver. The fare in the first-class is only a 
half-penny more than the second, and threepence 
will take one from the Bois to either of the chief 
stations. The tram-cars have fixed stopping- 
posts; but there are numerous arrets facultatifs 
which it takes some time, however, for the 
stranger to discover. The only drawback is that 
the platforms, especially in fine weather, are often 
so crowded as to make it difl&cult for fresh arrivals 
to get on to the tram or into the interior, which 



78 Belgian Life 

may be empty. The Belgian passengers are not 
very active in making way — it is not intentional 
rudeness — and sometimes there is a little more 
hustling than is pleasant or necessary. But any- 
thing of this nature in Brussels pales into insig- 
nificance beside the free-fight for a seat on a 
Ivondon omnibus at a crowded hour of the day. 

The extreme facility for getting about in Brus- 
sels by means of the trams is one of its chief at- 
tractions as a place of residence. As has been 
said, it is the main cause why the suburbs are 
spreading far out in every direction, so that there 
are now streets of houses leading to places that 
only a few years ago were primitive country vil- 
lages. It is one of the privileges of the Belgian 
citizen that he can generally fix his home in a 
suburb which is almost the country, where he can 
have his vegetable garden and his poultry. 




CHAPTER VI 



THK COMMKRCIAI^ CLASSES OF ANTWERP 



TO a very great extent, the prosperity of Bel- 
gium is revealed in the commercial activity 
of Antwerp, and the commercial classes of that 
city form a community which more nearly re- 
sembles an English community than any other in 
Belgium. The pursuit of over-sea commerce has 
broadened the view of the merchants and shippers 
of the great port on the Scheldt, and there is less 
of the communal, or as we should say, parochial, 
spirit about them than about any other section of 
the Belgian people. They are stationed at Bel- 
gium's window to the outer world, and they re- 
alise better than the rest of their countrymen the 
precise place filled in it by their small country. 
They know, for instance, that the affairs of this 
planet are not bound up in the petty questions 
that engross the attention of professional poli- 
ticians in the Rue de la Eoi. Consequently they 
keep aloof from politics and concentrate their 
energies on making money. 

Of all the cities of Belgium there is not one 
with a more interesting past, or a more prosperous 
79 



8o Belgian Life 

present, than Antwerp. When Bruges lost the 
premier place as a centre of commerce, through 
the closing of the Zwyn, Antwerp stepped into its 
shoes, and, in the time of Charles V., it attained 
the zenith of its prosperity. Its population ex- 
ceeded one hundred and thirty thousand, and 
some authorities have put it as high as two hun- 
dred thousand. Guicciardini, the Italian envoy, 
at the beginning of the reign of Charles's son and 
successor, Philip II., described in glowing terms 
its commercial activity, which exceeded that of 
Venice. Alva first arrested its prosperity and 
Parma dealt it the final blow. The city which in 
1566 could boast of one hundred and thirty thou- 
sand inhabitants, contained in 1589 no more than 
fifty-five thousand. A large proportion of its 
citizens and their families had sought and found 
new homes in England. After the cessation of 
the troubles of the sixteenth century, Antwerp 
suffered from the closure of the Scheldt by the 
Dutch, and when the French occupied Belgium in 
1794, its population did not exceed forty thou- 
sand. Its modern prosperity began one hundred 
years ago, when Napoleon, believing that he 
could make it the first port of the Continent, as- 
signed large sums for the excavation of two docks 
and a line of quays. It did not, however, receive 
the impulse which has made it one of the most 
important ports of the Continent until 1863, when 
the freedom of the Scheldt was obtained by pur- 
chase from the Dutch Government. Since that 



The Commercial Classes 8i 

occurrence the number of ships making use of the 
port of Antwerp has trebled, while their tonnage 
has increased fivefold. In consequence of this in- 
crease, Antwerp needs a larger port, and schemes 
are under discussion for providing new docks and 
quays, and even a fresh channel to the river, by- 
means of what is called the gra^ide coupure, which 
would save a considerable bend in the Scheldt be- 
tween Antwerp and the sea. This large project 
has encountered quite as much opposition as it 
has received support, and is never likely to be 
carried out. But there is no doubt that Antwerp 
does not possess the accommodation it has need 
of, and that the port will have to be enlarged. 

If the trafiic has outgrown the port, so also has 
the population the town. When the Scheldt was 
freed in 1863, it had one hundred and twenty-five 
thousand people, it now contains three hundred 
and thirty thousand. Antwerp is, as is well 
known, a fortress of great strength, but the town 
is surrounded by an enceiiite^ which is the finest 
work of its kind in the world, except where the 
river makes it unnecessary. The present enceinte 
was finished in i860, and replaced the old one of 
the Middle Ages. It signified a very large addi- 
tion to the area of the town for the new enceinte is 
eight and a quarter miles in length, as compared 
with the two and a half miles of the old. But the 
growth of population has proved so rapid that 
people say there is not room for the present in- 
habitants. The large suburbs of Berchem and 



82 Belgian Life 

Borgerhout absorbed by the new enceinte afforded 
some relief, but the pressure within the town has 
again become serious and must, before many more 
years, be relieved by some means or other. One 
proposal is to remove the enceinte. Another is 
to extend the town down the Scheldt on land 
reclaimed by means of the grande coupure. A 
third is to develop the land on the left bank of 
the Scheldt and to connect it with the town on the 
right bank by several tunnels passing under the 
river. It has never been forgotten locally, that 
Napoleon considered the left bank of the river the 
preferable side, and wished to found a town round 
the fine fort known as the Tete de Flandre. 

Antwerp, although it lies fifty-six miles up a 
river, part of which might be called more appro- 
priately an arm of the sea, is a seaport open to 
the largest steamers. The principal portion of 
its trade, therefore, is that of transmitting and re- 
ceiving merchandise. It is the gate of Belgium 
from and to the oceans, for Ostend, its only rival, 
is limited to the conveyance of passengers and of 
light articles, such as vegetables and fruits, to and 
from Kngland. There is not, and never can be, 
any serious rivalry between the two places. Os- 
tend is in communication with Dover and the 
Thames, while Antwerp is in touch with all the 
countries of the world. Shipping, therefore, 
plays the preponderating r&le in the commercial 
life of Antwerp, and it is certainly strange to find 
that notwithstanding all their enterprise and in- 



The Commercial Classes 83 

dustry, the Belgians have practically no marine 
of their own. Almost the whole of their trade is 
carried on in foreign vessels. The only important 
exception is the line of steamers plying to and 
from the Congo, which is subsidised by the Congo 
Free State. These steamers were built at Hobo- 
ken, three miles above Antwerp, on the Scheldt, 
where the Cockerill firm of Seraing have a yard. 
Statements have frequently been made that this 
yard is to be enlarged, and that shipbuilding is to 
be taken in hand on a large scale, but up to the 
present nothing important has been accomplished. 
There is, however, valid reason to believe that 
something is to be done before long, and a train- 
ing-ship for young officers is being constructed. 

Be that as it may, the present high prosperity 
of the place has been reached without a Belgian 
marine, and, as a matter of fact, the great bulk 
of its trade has been carried on under the British 
flag. Of late German competition has been 
creeping up, and makes a good show in the port 
statistics, but it is still a long way behind the 
English. In the agency business on shore it is 
difierent. Not merely are there a great many 
more German firms than Knglish, but they are so 
numerous that they appear almost as the equals 
of the Belgians. They are careful, however, to 
screen their nationality as much as possible, and 
as an instance of this it may be mentioned that 
they do not claim the usual foreigner's exemption 
from service in the Garde Civique. 



84 Belgian Life 

Apart from the shipping interest, the Antwerp 
market is one of the most important in Europe for 
several articles of commerce. The prices of rub- 
ber and ivory are practically regulated on the 
Continent by its quotations. Antwerp has greatly 
benefited by the import of caoutchouc, or rubber, 
from the Congo State. In 1902, the value of this 
raw material was estimated at five million kilo- 
grammes (five thousand tons), sold at an average 
of seven francs a kilo, or about ;^i, 500,000, and 
Antwerp now ranks after Liverpool, but, of course, 
at a respectful distance, in the rubber market. 
Coffee, hides, leather, and timber are dealt in to 
very large amounts. The daily transactions on 
the Bourse are very considerable, and the activity 
displayed in the sale and purchase of securities re- 
veals the presence of a wealthy and enterprising 
business class. It is here that the real stock ex- 
change transactions of the country are carried out. 
There are Bourses at Brussels and the other large 
towns, but their business is small in comparison 
with that of Antwerp, and they generally follow 
its lead. The Bourse of Antwerp is a fine build- 
ing, constructed thirty years ago on the site of the 
old edifice, which was burned down in 1858. The 
original Bourse, one of the finest Gothic buildings 
in the country, was built in 1531 at the cost of an 
Antwerp merchant, named Van der Beurse, who 
presented it to his fellow-citizens as a meeting- 
place for merchants. It is said that the word 
* * Bourse ' ' is derived from his name. The magni- 



The Commercial Classes 85 

tude of the commerce of Antwerp may be gathered 
from the fact that Belgium's exports exceeded 
one hundred and twenty-nine millions sterling, 
and her imports were over one hundred and forty- 
five millions in 1902, and that, so far as they were 
sea-borne, nine tenths of them passed through 
Antwerp. 

The wealthier of the Antwerp merchants reside 
in fine and attractive-looking houses that border 
the broad boulevards laid out over the line of the 
ancient wall. These houses are singularly bright, 
and many of them are highly artistic. Unlike the 
Brussels mansion, which is uniformly white, ex- 
cept in the new parts of the town, such as the 
Avenue Louise, the Antwerp residence is gener- 
ally brick of several colours with bright green 
wooden shutters, or volets. The boulevards form 
a semicircle in the town extending from the fine 
new picture gallery on the Place du Peuple in the 
south, to the Grand Bassin in the north, and the 
centre is occupied by gardens, decorated with 
statues, as well as by a broad carriage and tram- 
road. As the line of boulevard extends for over 
three miles, the effect is impressive, and it is cer- 
tainly increased by contrast with the older parts 
of the town, where the streets are narrow and 
tortuous. 

The Antwerp merchant, probably on account 
of his larger knowledge of the outer world, and 
his greater intercourse with it, is far more hospit- 
able in his habits than any other class in Belgium. 



86 Belgian Life 

He will invite a foreign visitor to dinner, and he 
will get friends to meet him. He will make it his 
object to reveal his own manner of life, and what 
his class think on the social side of existence. 
He likes to be a little ostentatious in his enter- 
tainment, and to bring forth the best of his wines 
and his cigars. Nor is this done by any excep- 
tional effort, as is so often the case in Brussels, 
where one cannot help feeling that any special en- 
tertainment has been provided only by upsetting 
the whole household. In Antwerp, it is made 
perfectly clear that the host is quite accustomed to 
receiving friends and visitors in the intimacy of 
his family life; it is an everyday occurrence. In 
another point Antwerp society leads the country, 
and that is in respect of conversation. In other 
cities the conversation is very limited in the range 
of subjects, being generally devoted to local or 
family matters, but in Antwerp interest is taken 
in any questions that may happen to attract the 
attention of the world generally. No Belgians 
read much beyond the newspapers, but the Ant- 
werp citizen reads more than any other Belgian. 

If one wishes to get a good general impression 
of Antwerp society, the place to go to is the opera 
at the Theatre Royal on Sunday afternoon. The 
house is always packed. In the stalls, the boxes, 
and the parquet, especially the last, which corre- 
sponds to the English dress-circle, may be seen the 
most prominent representatives of the wealth and 
prosperity of Antwerp. As the opera season is in 



The Commercial Classes 87 

the winter, the show of furs is imposing, and a 
double row of carriages awaits to bear the represen- 
tatives of the city's plutocracy back to their homes. 
A very similar scene is repeated at the Flemish 
Theatre in the evening, but here the middle class 
of merchants and shop-keepers is more in evi- 
dence. In both the scene suggests a high order 
of comfort, and the possession of material bless- 
ings, and speaks volumes for Flemish energy and 
its results. It must be borne in mind that the 
Walloons have had no part in the building up of 
the modern prosperity of Antwerp. It is alto- 
gether a Flemish achievement, and Antwerp of 
the twentieth century renews in a modern dress 
the life in Bruges of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries, and of its own in the first half of the 
sixteenth. 

Reference has been made to the hospitality of 
the Antwerp citizens in their own families. But 
entertainment generally plays a large part in its 
daily life. There are at Antwerp some of the best 
restaurants to be found anywhere in Belgium, and 
at the principal hotel, the St. Antoine, the cuisine 
has a well-deserved reputation. The civic enter- 
tainments are generally held in the large hall of 
the Zoological Society on account of the number 
of guests, and the only complaint that can be made 
against them is that there are too many courses 
and that they last too long. It is not at all un- 
usual for a banquet that commences at eight to 
reach the last line of the menu only at midnight. 



88 Belgian Life 

These banquets bear some resemblance to those 
at the Guildhall or Mansion House, and the bur- 
gomaster and sheriffs (Jchevins) often attend them 
in state. The present burgomaster, M. Van Rys- 
wyck, has long held that office, and is famous 
among his countrymen for his oratorical gifts. 
His reputation has not been gained without good 
justification for it. 

In the Middle Ages the Belgian cities were dis- 
tinguished from each other in the following dis- 
tichs: — *' Nobilibus Bruxella viris, Antwerpia 
nummis, Gandavum laqueis, formosis Bruga pu- 
ellis, lyovanium doctis, gaudet Mechlinia stultis ' ' 
— which may be translated thus : ' * Brussels for 
its noblemen, Antwerp for its moneyed men, 
Ghent for its neck-cords (referring to its submis- 
sion in 1540), Bruges for its pretty girls, Louvain 
for its learned men, and Malines for its fools." 
It is said that Malines got this reputation because 
one night a citizen declared that the cathedral 
was on fire, and all his neighbours turned out to 
extinguish it, when after many efforts they dis- 
covered that the fire was only the moon shining 
through the open towers of St. Rombaud. With 
regard to Antwerp, it may still be pronounced 
famous ** for its moneyed men." 

In speaking of Antwerp, it is impossible to for- 
get that there is another side to its life besides its 
commercial character. It is a great fortress — the 
bulwark, as it has been called, of Belgian freedom. 
When this statement is made, the minds of most 



The Commercial Classes 89 

people revert to the siege of Antwerp in 1832, but 
the citadel, which General Chasse defended so 
courageously against a French army twenty times 
as numerous as his own force, has long disap- 
peared with the rest of the old fortifications, the 
old Scheldt Gate on the Steen being the only sur- 
vival of that period. Antwerp, as a fortress, is 
quite as new as it is as a town. The left bank is 
defended by the strong fort T^te de Flandre, 
which might almost be regarded as a citadel, and 
lower down the Scheldt are Fort Isabelle and Fort 
Marie. These and the enceinte built round the 
town in 1859-60, supplemented by the small fort 
of Berchem, constitute the inner defences of Ant- 
werp. In their way they are admirable, and the 
enceinte, with its wet ditch and caponnieres thrown 
out to protect each of the seven gates on the east 
and south sides of the rampart, is a very remark- 
able work. The caponnieres mentioned are used 
as the arsenals of the place. But these defences 
are now out of date, or rather, they are reduced 
to a second order of utility. They are useless to 
keep off the fire of long-range artillery, but they 
provide an efficient defence against any attack by 
infantry or cavalry. They guarantee the rich city 
behind them against a coup de mai?t. Those per- 
sons who lightly propose to remove the enceinte 
so that the town may spread out, have overlooked 
the fact that this would render possible the cap- 
ture of the city, and of the government which pre- 
sumably had found shelter therein, by a raid of the 



90 Belgian Life 

invader's cavalry, notwithstanding that the forts 
surrounding the place might still keep the foe 
at bay. Considering Antwerp in the light of a 
national refuge-place, an enceinte is absolutely in- 
dispensable, and if there is no other way of 
getting over the difficulty from the increased 
population, a new one will have to be constructed 
along a more advanced circumference. As this 
must entail enormous expense and a correspond- 
ing advance of the outlying forts in order to keep 
the new portion of the town out of the range of 
the enemy's guns, it is possible that some alter- 
native plan will be adopted, such as that of build- 
ing a new town on the left bank. 

In addition to the enceinte, the scheme of de- 
fence of 1859 provided for the construction of 
eight forts in a semicircle, drawn about two miles 
in advance of the enceinte. These forts commence 
on the north near Wyneghem, where the country 
that would be flooded in war time ends, and 
terminate in the south near Hoboken. In 1870, 
they were further strengthened by a new fort at 
Merxem, and two redoubts. The increased range 
of artillery soon showed that even these forts 
would not save the city of Antwerp from destruc- 
tion, as it could be bombarded over their heads. 

It was consequently decided in 1878 that a sec- 
ond line of advanced forts should be built at a 
distance ranging from six to nine miles from the 
enceinte. It was also decided that these forts 
should number fifteen; but after five had been 



The Commercial Classes 91 

constructed, the fit of energy passed ofi", and for 
years Antwerp has been left in a practically de- 
fenceless state. In 1900, two more were taken in 
hand with the view of protecting an uncovered 
gap of fourteen miles in breadth on the I^ierre. 
Eight forts are still to be built to complete what 
was pronounced to be necessary as long ago as 
1878. Considering the vital interests at stake, 
the apathy shown in dealing with this matter 
is extraordinary and inexplicable. A sum of 
;^6oo,ooo has at last been voted for the completion 
of the missing forts. 

In 1878, the defences of the left bank were also 
improved. They then consisted of Fort Ste. 
Marie, which, supplemented by the small fort of 
La Perle, and the large Fort St. Philippe, guarded 
the river below Antwerp. In the year named, 
the forts of Cruybeke above Antwerp, and of 
Zwyndrecht west of the town were added, and 
the entrenched camp of the left bank is even now 
considered fairlj^ complete. What would be the 
military requirements should a large town be 
created on the left bank as well does not come at 
present under the head of practical questions. 

The commercial side of Antwerp somewhat ob- 
scures its military r61e. The busy merchants who 
jostle one another as they hasten through the 
Place de Meir, or the Rue Longue Neuve, over- 
shadow the large garrison that is always present 
at Antwerp. But it is impossible to overlook the 
fact that the one cause of its importance is closely 



92 



Belgian Life 



connected with the other. Antwerp is the large 
and prosperous centre of commerce that it is, be- 
cause it is the bulwark, or, if not that, then the 
last ditch, of Belgian independence. If there is a 
vigorous Belgian nation in any part of the coun- 
try, it is to be found at Antwerp. Its commercial 
classes stand in the forefront of the life of the 
country, and they represent its highest form of 
patriotism. They are in great need of effectual 
protection for their city, which justifies this di- 
gression on the subject of the fortifications of 
Antwerp. 




CHAPTER VII 



THK MINE:rS op the: BORINAG^ 



ONE of the most remarkable centres of na- 
tional life is to be found in the coal-mining 
district known as '* le Borinage," which signifies 
the place of boring. Here is to be found a state 
of society that does not exist in any other part of 
the country, and the miners are a type quite dis- 
tinct from the rest of their countrymen. It would 
be unfair to judge other Belgians by the mining 
population which has been allowed to sink — not 
merely by the character of its work, but by the 
deficiencies of education, supplemented by the 
poisonous effect of the fiery and deleterious bev- 
erages which the miners too freely imbibe — into a 
state of physical and mental decay. 

The Borinage district lies south of Mons, but it 
extends westwards as far as Quievrain, on the 
line to Valenciennes. The mines now extend 
farther north than the original Borinage district, 
and the railway from Tournai to Charleroi, pass- 
ing by Mons and Marchienne, traverses for a great 
part of the distance the mining district, the trollies 
passing from the collieries to railway trucks, or 
93 



94 Belgian Life 

canal barges overhead, as the train glides along. 
The whole of the southern portion of the province 
of Hainaut is given up to mining operations, and 
more than one hundred thousand persons are 
actually employed in them. Some idea of the im- 
portance of this industry may be gathered from 
the fact that whereas the output sixty years ago 
was only two million tons a year, it now exceeds 
twenty millions, and has shown for many years 
past a considerable annual increase. There seems 
to be no valid ground for apprehension lest this 
increased activity should entail an early exhaus- 
tion of the mineral. The extension of the coal 
area to districts not included in the original Bor- 
inage has also contributed to banish that fear. 
The mines are owned and worked by sociites an- 
onymes, or joint-stock companies. There are no 
royalties to landowners, and the State waived any 
claim to participate that it might have advanced 
in the first place, because its main object was to de- 
velop national industry. It is understood that it 
will not show itself so disinterested with regard to 
any new coalfields that may be discovered and 
made productive. The mines of Hainaut have, 
therefore, been exploited to exceedingly great 
profit by the small body of capitalists who became 
interested in them in the first place, and who tried 
to keep them a close preserve until the shares 
were got rid of at high premiums on the Bourse. 
The halcyon days of the mine owners were those 
before the organisation of labour. Then the Bel- 



The Miners of the Borinage 95 

gian miner toiled for as many hours underground 
as he would have done above, and he received a 
wage which, in the most favourable case, did not 
reach a pound a week. That is more than twenty- 
years ago, but it had been the general practice 
during more than two generations, and it has left 
a deep, if not indelible, mark on the old mining 
families. Among these it seems as if there had 
sprung up a fresh race of dwarfs, men under four 
feet eight inches, women shorter still, and children 
who look as if they will never reach even this 
height. They are stunted and emaciated, and 
they are easily distinguishable from the rest of the 
population as the third and fourth generation of 
the old mining population. At Frameries and 
Paturages, where mining has been in existence 
for a century, this type is very obtrusive. 

In no country of Europe did the miners have a 
harder battle to fight in order to obtain more in- 
dulgent treatment and a fairer living wage than 
in Belgium. The extreme ignorance and illit- 
eracy of the miners left them more or less at the 
mercy of their masters, and outside sympathy and 
support were long arrested by the grave assurance 
that, if the miners were to work fewer hours and 
to receive more wages, the Belgian mines could 
not compete with foreign mines, and would have 
to close altogether. Of course there was not the 
least ground for this assertion, but it served its 
turn, and enabled the owners to remain for a 
longer time masters of the situation. This state 



96 Belgian Life 

of things could not have endured as long as it did 
but for the extremely small sum upon which a 
Belgian workman can maintain himself and his 
family. 

There comes an end, however, to any system 
that does not take into account the actual neces- 
sities and the natural aspirations of the men who 
support it. Capital had ruled the roast for so 
many years in Belgium, that it looked as if its 
position was inexpugnable, and as if the miners 
were consigned to perform the part of helots to the 
end of the chapter. But the labour party had 
been growing steadily in influence and organisa- 
tion long before its members possessed a vote, and 
the spread of Socialism was, it must be admitted, 
strengthened by the legitimate grievances of the 
labour classes. The movement of the Parti Ou- 
vrier reached its height in the year 1892, when a 
general strike was carried out, and after intense 
suffering the mining population rose in what was 
practically armed rebellion the following year. 
At Charier oi, and throughout the Borinage gener- 
ally, riots occurred, and even when the military 
were called out the result was left doubtful. A 
more serious calamity indeed seemed not impos- 
sible, as the loyalty of the young troops was called 
in question. At this juncture the mine owners 
gave way under pressure from the Government, 
and a new scale of payment was introduced which, 
if not all that the men desired, was fair and reason- 
able. By this scale the average miner's wage 



The Miners of the Borinage 97 

was raised to between twenty-five and thirty-five 
shillings a week, and that of women and boys to 
between twelve shillings and one pound. The 
maxima might, indeed, be greater but for the 
protective measures adopted by the miners them- 
selves in the restriction of the output. The la- 
bour party organised a scale of production which, 
while it restricts the maximum earnings of any 
workman, ensures the prolonged existence of the 
mines themselves. The limit thus placed on 
the output of any single mine has rendered it 
the more necessary to discover fresh mines, both 
in Hainaut and elsewhere. The fifty per cent, in- 
crease in the coal produce of the country during 
the last ten years represents the total furnished by 
these new pits, some of which are in Hainaut, 
while others are in the I^iege district. 

Satisfactory as the arrangement of 1893 was in 
the main, especially as it was followed in the next 
year by the conferring of the franchise on every 
Belgian on attaining the age of twenty-five, so 
that the victory was twofold, the miners have, 
on one or two occasions since, displayed a feeling 
of resentment toward their employers. The dif- 
ferences between labour and capital in Belgium 
are far indeed from being finally composed, and 
the relations between the miners and the mine 
owners are not merely wanting in cordiality, 
but reveal marked antagonism and extreme en- 
mity. In 1899 the troubles of 1892-93 were near 
breaking out afresh. It was difficult at the time 



98 Belgian Life 

to discover whether the miners had any serious 
grievance, or whether the Socialist agitators were 
merely resorting to the cry of labour wrongs for 
the purpose of strengthening their political pro- 
gramme for the attainment of universal suffrage. 
At all events, while the political agitation was at 
its height in the streets of Brussels, the miners 
of the Borinage and their close confederates, the 
men engaged on the iron and steel works at Char- 
leroi, made demands for an improved scale of pay 
and for shortening the hours of labour. 

The owners of the mines and the smelting works 
declared that these requests were inadmissible, 
and that they could only be granted by their ac- 
cepting a loss which would soon compel the clos- 
ing of the mines, and the consequent cessation of 
all enterprises dependent upon them. Notwith- 
standing the firmness of the owners and the gen- 
eral belief that they were within their rights, all 
the preliminaries for a strike were arranged, and 
in some cases the men even came out; but in the 
meantime the agitation in Brussels had collapsed. 
The Socialists, finding that the Government had 
made the necessary preparations to put down dis- 
order, and that the bourgeois class was quite 
equipped to take action by means of the Garde 
Civique, abandoned the campaign, and orders 
were issued not to proceed with the strike. Evi- 
dence was thus furnished that the grievances of 
the miners could not have been very great, and 
that their position was far from being intolerable, 



The Miners of the Borinage 99 

as it undoubtedly was in 1892. The rate of wages 
and the hours of labour reverted, after the 1899 
scare, to the scale established in 1893, but it is 
impossible to say whether general contentment re- 
mained behind. Whether the last chapter is 
written or not in the struggle between capital and 
labour, one thing is certain. The hands of the 
authorities are now much stronger than they were 
in former years, and labour questions will have to 
be fought out on their merits, without the inter- 
position of political agitators. 

A visit to the Borinage is not a pleasant experi- 
ence, and the closer the acquaintance made with 
the life of the mining population the less attract- 
ive does it appear. All mining work, apparently, 
must be accompanied by a deterioration in the 
moral as well as the physical qualities of the 
population so engaged, and this must be especi- 
ally marked where the education of the people has 
been notoriously backward and neglected for gen- 
erations. In Hainaut the majority of the miners 
are illiterate, and this condition of things will not 
be altered until the State makes education compul- 
sory, and places restrictions in the way of the in- 
discriminate employment of children on the mines; 
for their non-employment underground is no real 
remedy. No one has interested himself in the 
moral and intellectual development of this class 
of the population, because the State, in carrying 
out its theory of perfect liberty, does not concern 
itself with such matters, and leaves the whole 



loo Belgian Life 

responsibility to the commune and the parent, 
while the Church, having lost all influence over 
the mining population, is only too glad that these 
hostile classes should be left in a condition of 
almost utter ignorance. 

But the most potent of all the reasons which 
produce this result is that boys and girls, as soon 
as they have the physical strength, which is sup- 
posed to be at twelve years of age, are taken on 
the mining establishment and employed above 
ground. They thus become bread-winners, and 
the smattering of learning that they may have ac- 
quired as infants is soon reduced to the capacity 
of signing their names. The employment of child- 
ren of tender age lies at the root of the ignorance 
of the people of the greater part of a large pro- 
vince. It is this practice which has led to the fol- 
lowing custom among the mining population. 
Immorality, and especially that which takes the 
distressing form of girl-mothers, is general and 
widespread. It has always been the concomitant 
of the close employment of the two sexes in mines 
and mining operations, and if it seems somewhat 
worse in Hainaut than in the English Black Coun- 
try, it is because the mining population in Bel- 
gium is so completely detached and cut off from 
the rest of the community. To the proprietors, 
with rare exceptions, the miners are mere beasts 
of burden, in whom they do not affect to feel the 
least interest. No steps whatever are taken to 
improve the lot of the miners, to elevate their 



The Miners of the Borinage loi 

ideas or even to provide them with amusement 
or recreations. There are no clubs, except the 
cercles of the Socialists, and the only places of re- 
sort are the estamiiiets and cabarets that are to be 
found in practically every third and fourth house. 
The custom referred to is that the miner seeks as 
a wife the woman who has had the greatest num- 
ber of illegitimate children, because they will con- 
tribute to the household income. It is quite a 
common thing to find in a miner's house a mar- 
ried man with one or two children of his own, and 
four or even more sons and daughters of the wife 
by different men in the pre-nuptial state. It is 
scarcely going too far to say that morality does not 
exist in the Borinage; but the greatest curse in 
this community is the large number of immature 
mothers, and the consequent inseparable deteri- 
oration of the whole race. The evil has been al- 
lowed to reach such a pass that the success of any 
remedies must now be slow and uncertain, and as 
yet none are even talked of. But certainly some- 
thing could be done to improve education and to 
restrain the employment of children. No doubt 
the miners themselves would at first be the most 
determined opponents of any such change, be- 
cause the existing evils are mainly due to their 
own selfishness and evil habits. The consequent 
diminution in the earnings of the family could, 
however, be made up by the increased exertions 
of the men. 

Ignorance and immorality explain the low con- 



I02 Belgian Life 

dition to which the mining population has sunk, 
but even these causes would not have produced so 
appalling a result if they had not been supple- 
mented and aided by the prevalence of drunken- 
ness. As there is no restriction on the sale of 
drink, every house can retail intoxicating liquors, 
and in many places where it is procurable there is 
no external appearance of the place being a drink- 
ing-shop. The room of the cottage will contain a 
few chairs and benches, besides a table, and the 
liquor comes from a cupboard or an inner room. 
In warm weather the table and chairs are placed 
outside, and on Sundays and feast days there is 
not one of these houses which will not be crowded 
with visitors. The only amusement known to 
this people is to drink and to get drunk. There 
are no abstainers or half-abstainers among them. 
The only distinction lies between beer-drinkers 
and spirit-drinkers. The beer-drinkers are the 
more reasonable drunkards of the two. Having 
soaked themselves with faro, they sleep it off. 
Not so the spirit-drinkers, for when they have 
jQnished their orgies they are half-mad with the 
poisonous alcohol which they have imbibed, and 
the greater number of crimes are perpetrated by 
this class among the miners. Crime of all kinds 
is prevalent, and the reports of the Hainaut as- 
sizes are not pleasant reading. The true explana- 
tion of the evils that follow this spirit- drinking is 
to be found in the character of the spirit itself. In 
name it is gin, or genievre, but it bears little or no 



The Miners of the Borinage 103 

trace of that origin. What it is, no one outside 
the place of manufacture — which appears to be 
unknown— can correctly declare, but by the smell 
it would seem to be mainly composed of paraffin 
oil. This beverage, called schiick, is the favourite 
spirit with the miners. It is sold at one penny 
for a large wine glass and one halfpenny for a 
small, and official statistics show that a large ma- 
jority of the miners drink a pint of this stuff every 
day of their lives, while it is computed that there 
are not fewer than fifty thousand who drink a 
quart. In the latter total are no doubt included 
many who are not miners, but the majority of 
them are. In Belgium the drink question is ag- 
gravated by the poisonous nature of the intoxicant 
and by the admitted inability of the Government 
to devise any means of preventing adulteration, 
lycst the reader should imagine that there is some 
exaggeration in the figures just given, it may be 
mentioned that the total consumption of spirits in 
the country during a year exceeds fifty quarts per 
head of the population. This being the case it 
will not appear surprising that an extreme toper 
consumes a quart of spirit a day. The conse- 
quences of this excess are to be seen in the in- 
creasing number of lunatics and alcohol-maniacs 
confined in the State asylums, and it is observed 
that of late years the proportion of women has 
been largely increasing, so that it is now not 
much short of one to two. 

The Government of Belgium is, of course, 



I04 Belgian Life 

aware of these facts, and a visit to the Borinage 
will quickly convince the most sceptical of the ex- 
tent of the mischief already done, which becomes 
more glaring every year. But the Government 
has been afraid to grapple with the difficulty by 
passing, for instance, a law to oblige all places 
where drink is on sale to have a licence. The 
absolute immunity of the drink shop from all con- 
trol, the tacit permission given to every house to 
be at the will of its occupant a public-house, and 
the fact that there is in existence one drinking 
place for every five adults explain the situation. 
The State has refrained from interference so 
long, through its regard for the liberty in- 
scribed in its constitution, which includes its 
citizens' liberty to get drunk, that the difficulty 
has assumed appalling proportions. To interfere 
with a practice in which every one can put for- 
ward some evidence of a vested interest is a peril- 
ous step. 

On the other hand, the Government is con- 
fronted with the prospect that if the evil is allowed 
to continue unabated, the deterioration of the race 
which has become marked in certain districts like 
the Borinage must bring about a national decline 
that will constitute a grave peril to the country. 
If the Government is afraid to diminish the num- 
ber of houses by imposing licences, it might well 
grapple with the rninor problem of arresting adul- 
teration, and putting an end to the consumption 
of pernicious substitutes for gin. Unless it does 



The Miners of the Borinage 105 

something practical for the mitigation of the evil 
it will be confronted one of these days with a peril 
that may overtax its resources, and that must 
damage its reputation. Ignorance, immorality, 
and drunkenness have made the mining districts 
of Belgium a black spot in the national life, and 
the sooner an era of reform is commenced the 
better. '*Ces gens la sont des brutes," a Belgian 
nobleman once said to me, when speaking of 
these very miners; but a wise Government admits 
no brutes among the nation committed to its 
charge. It cannot help individual exceptions, 
but in Hainaut the description applies to a large 
community counted by tens of thousands. 

Coal is the most important product of Belgium, 
and its possession lies at the base of much of its 
prosperity. The output for the year 1902 was 
23,462,819 tons, of which only 7,000,000 were ex- 
ported. Belgium also imported 3,600,000 tons 
from Germany and England. When the Hainaut 
mines began to be worked with greater activity, 
there were fears that they would not be able to 
stand the increased output, and it was a common 
opinion among Belgian experts that they would 
soon be exhausted. Such has not proved the 
case. The output has largely increased, and 
signs of exhaustion are still absent. None the 
less there has been considerable relief, owing to 
the discovery of an entirely fresh coal area in the 
district of Campine, which is part of the province 
of lyimburg. It may be some years before this 



io6 Belgian Life 

coalfield can be put into active development, be- 
cause intricate questions of law have to be decided 
as to private owners' rights and the claims of the 
State. What seems already established, although 
contrary to English law, is that the owner of the 
surface of the earth does not possess the mineral 
deposits which lie under it. Should the State es- 
tablish its claims, and decide in favour of making 
the Campine mines a national undertaking, then 
it must be hoped that steps will be taken to pre- 
vent the repetition of some of the vicious, un- 
healthy, and degrading practices that have grown 
up in the province of Hainaut. 

In the last session of the Chambers, the Belgian 
Government brought in and passed a bill increas- 
ing the excise on spirits by fifty per cent. This 
measure may do some good, but the concoction in 
which spirit has no part will obviously escape 
duty. The temptation to put deleterious liquors 
on the market will be increased, and even should 
the new Act increase the revenue, it will not 
diminish intemperance. 

By the last census, the ofiScial deductions from 
which are not yet completed, 277,997 men and 
boys, and 15,266 women are employed in the 
mines and metal industries. The larger half, say, 
150,000, work on the mines. The railway system 
of Belgium, it may be remarked, is excellent, 
and managed for the greater part by the State — 
State railways, 2516 miles; private companies, 
334 miles. Travelling is cheap, the trains are 



The Miners of the Borinage 107 

punctual, and the system of season-tickets is 
admirable. Light railways and steam or electric 
tramways, supplement the main lines, and are 
worked in conjunction with them. 




CHAPTER VIII 

the: manufacturing ckntrks 

THE activity of Antwerp, of which I have al- 
ready spoken, is due to the development of 
the manufacturing centres throughout the coun- 
try. If Ghent, Liege, and Seraing did not exist, 
the exports of Antwerp could not have reached 
their present imposing figures. The prosperity of 
Belgium is the result of the productive capacity 
of its citizens, and this is shown in the sphere of 
manufacture as much as of agriculture. Large 
portions of Belgium seem to be given up as com- 
pletely to factories as Flanders is to vegetable 
fields, and the Borinage to coal mines. The coal 
and iron of Hainaut are the gifts of nature, but 
the products of Ghent, Seraing, Verviers, and 
other places too numerous to name, are due to 
the ingenuity and toil of man alone. 

Of all Belgian cities Ghent has the best associa- 
tions for English people. As the home of the Ar- 
teveldes — who were the most sincere upholders of 
the alliance with England that Belgium ever pro- 
duced — and as the birthplace of John of Gaunt, its 
name has been familiar to them from childhood. 
io8 



The Manufacturing Centres 109 

It is also the capital, as it were, of that Flemish 
race with which the Knglish are in an ethnological 
sense more closely connected than with any other 
Continental people. The history of this once proud 
city contains much of, if not all, the pathos and 
tragedy of the Belgian epic. Until that Pacifica- 
tion of 1540 to which reference is made in the 
I^atin lines that are so often quoted by way of dis- 
tinguishing between the cities, Ghent was a Power 
in itself. It fell because it did not realise that its 
pre-eminence among Flemish communes was no 
proof that it could beard the ruler of a great em- 
pire with impunity. It retained the insolence of 
power long after it had lost the substance, and its 
fall was both ignominious and irretrievable. In 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Ghent 
suffered in a special degree from the blight which 
fell generally upon Flanders. The grass grew in 
its streets, the canals were unused, and the popu- 
lation steadily declined. From being the rival of 
potentates and states, Ghent sank into the position 
of a second-rank provincial town. The city that 
had once boasted of its quarter of a million inhab- 
itants, and of how with its dependent towns it 
could put eighty thousand combatants in the field, 
contained less than forty thousand citizens when 
the French occupied the country in the Revolu- 
tionary period. At that time the principal occu- 
pation of the citizens of Ghent, and the main 
source of such prosperity as they possessed, was 
horticulture, and Ghent, which had been famous 



no Belgian Life 

for its gloves, became better known for its flowers. 
It has not lost this reputation to-day, and the 
flowers from the glass-houses of Ghent are in 
much demand, and sold all over the country; but 
at the same time it has discovered new and more 
profitable industries in the last century. 

The first and the main cause of the return of 
prosperity to Belgium was, it must be admitted, 
the establishment of peace. It ceased in 1795 to 
be the cockpit of Europe, and even during the 
Waterloo campaign a hostile force was on Belgian 
soil for no more than five days, and Charleroi, 
then a small place of no importance, was the only 
one of its towns to undergo military occupation. 
The cessation of strife, waged by foreign armies 
on its territory, was the first and main cause of 
the revival of Belgian industry. Men were able 
to turn their attention to more remunerative 
work than the cultivation of the fields, with some 
reasonable prospect of enjoying the fruits of 
their labour. While a larger area was brought 
under cultivation, commerce, however timidly, 
began to appeal to the townspeople. The popula- 
tion, long stationary, commenced to show signs 
of expansion. 

Ghent was the first place to feel the new in- 
fluence. Admirably situated for purposes of 
trade by means of its water communication in 
many different directions, Ghent was able, in the 
days before railways, to despatch its wares by the 
cheap and sufficiently expeditious transport pro- 



The Manufacturing Centres iii 

vided by canal and river barges. It thus found 
convenient markets in Brussels, which always en- 
joyed a certain prosperity as the residence of a 
Court, and in Antwerp, which was largely depen- 
dent on the country lying at its back. In the old 
days the weavers and fullers of Ghent had made 
its prosperity. It was, therefore, natural that 
when the revival of the place commenced, the 
thoughts of its citizens should turn in the same 
channel. The first factory set up in modern 
Ghent was one for cloth, during the French oc- 
cupation, and it was busily employed in turning 
out a large part of the material used in providing 
Napoleon's soldiers with their uniform. During 
the Dutch rule, which extended from 1 815 to 1830, 
the manufacture of cotton goods was introduced; 
but this did not become at all general until after 
the year 1839, when the independence of Belgium 
was rendered more assured by the recognition of 
the fact by Holland. After that event, cotton and 
woollen manufactures became a staple industry in 
Ghent, and the output increased every year, so 
that it seemed no undue exaggeration to speak of 
it as the Belgian Manchester. The prosperity of 
Ghent received a rude interruption in 1861 
through the outbreak of the American Civil War, 
which cut off the supply of cotton, and produced 
the greatest distress. The suffering was increased 
by a serious outbreak of cholera, and for a time it 
seemed as if Ghent had only risen to fall again. 
After the conclusion of the struggle in the United 



112 Belgian Life 

States, the enterprise that had been interrupted 
reasserted itself, and, the cholera having led to 
many sanitary improvements, the city took on a 
new lease of life. The lace and embroidery in- 
dustry, which had been carried on in a modest 
way in the houses of the working people them- 
selves, was transferred to factories, and was devel- 
oped with all the appliances of capital and science. 
An entirely new business was introduced bj^ the 
opening of works for the construction of engines 
and agricultural implements. There is, therefore, 
no doubt as to the activity of the business life of 
the city. No proof of it, indeed, can be clearer 
than that its population now exceeds one hundred 
and sixty thousand. Ghent, besides being an ac- 
tive commercial and manufacturing centre, is also 
a fine city, and a pleasant place of residence. It 
contains some very interesting monuments of its 
mediaeval grandeur, and although the bell of 
mighty Roland is heard no more in the land, there 
is an effective carillon of forty-four bells in the 
belfry, from which it used to sound forth ''vic- 
tory," or *' the alarm for fire." 

In striking contrast to Ghent is Seraing, where 
the greatest foundry and engine-works of Belgium 
were established by an Englishman two years 
after Waterloo. This was Cockerill, who fixed 
upon Seraing as the best spot for his enterprise, in 
which he had the cordial support of King William 
I. of the Netherlands, who subscribed half the 
capital. The site for the works, which now cover 



The Manufacturing Centres 113 

two hundred and sixty acres, and employ fifteen 
thousand working people, was happily chosen at 
an old chdteau with extensive grounds, which had 
once been the summer residence of the prince- 
bishops of I^iege. The chdteau is still used as the 
house of the resident director, and as a library. 
Formerly the spot was one of the most picturesque 
in the environs of I/iege. Now both banks of the 
river are lined with furnaces and factories, for 
Jemeppe, Ougree, Sclessin, and Tilleur are imi- 
tators of Seraing. The valley is also carbonifer- 
ous, and there are numerous coal-mines. The 
lyiege collieries rank next to those of Hainaut in 
importance, and some authorities think that they 
will be productive for a longer period. 

Seraing is situated five miles above Liege on 
the right bank of the Meuse. There is com- 
munication between the two places by river- 
steamer, tramway, and railway. By the last 
census its population exceeded thirty-eight thou- 
sand, and it may be assumed that every one resi- 
dent in the town is connected with or dependent 
on the Cockerill establishment. In 1831, after the 
separation of the two countries, Cockerill repaid 
King William his share of the capital, and re- 
mained sole proprietor until his death in 1840. 
The concern was then turned into a company, 
with the modest capital of half a million sterling. 
In 1871 the capital was increased, and, the 
descendants of Cockerill having died out or re- 
tired, the business became exclusively Belgian. 



114 Belgian Life 

Reference has been made to its shipbuilding branch 
at Hoboken on the Scheldt. The record of the 
Seraing works is a very remarkable one, espe- 
cially in the construction of railway and other 
steam-engines, of which close on sixty thousand 
have been turned out since the commencement of 
that branch in 1835. With its present staff it can 
construct annually one hundred and fifty locomo- 
tives, two thousand engines, steam and hand, and 
three hundred thousand quintals (or fifteen thou- 
sand tons) of fount for bridges and other works. 
The iron casements for the new forts at Namur 
and lyiege itself were cast in the Seraing foundries. 
Seraing may be compared in some respects to the 
Armstrong works at Klswick and the Krupp works 
at Kssen, and it is well to remind the Belgians 
that their country owes this undertaking, now a 
national one, to the capital and enterprise of an 
Englishman. 

Seraing is, in a certain sense, only an annex of 
the important city of Liege close by. In many 
respects Liege is the most remarkable place in 
Belgium, remarkable for its magnificent position, 
for the activity of its citizens, and for its histor}', 
which has, in a certain sense, been detached from 
that of the rest of the country. Liege is the nat- 
ural and typical capital of the Walloon country 
just as Ghent is of the Flemish. Both cities are 
now at the height of their prosperity, and contain 
about the same population. If, however, Seraing 
and Chenee were included as suburbs of Li^ge, 



The Manufacturing Centres 115 

which they are in reality, Liege would have a 
very marked superiority over Ghent. There is 
probably more wealth in lyiege than in Ghent, 
but there is also more misery. The poor quarters 
of the town on both banks of the river are very 
repulsive, and the old dilapidated lofty houses, 
built up against the side of the mountain on which 
stands the citadel, are not worse than the new 
tenements across the river at Longdoz and Bres- 
soux. The staple industry of I^iege, upon which 
its prosperity depends, is the manufacture of arms, 
and this fact has led to its being called the Birm- 
ingham of Belgium. There is one distinctive 
practice which brings out the marked difference 
between the two countries and peoples. English 
gunsmiths work in shops where weapons are 
turned out by the thousand. In I^iege, the indi- 
vidual works in his own abode, and takes each 
single weapon on completion to the gunshop for 
sale. It is said that there are forty thousand 
working gunsmiths in I^iege and its suburbs. It 
would appear a risky means of livelihood, for 
each piece is carefully inspected and tested before 
acceptance at the warehouses, and the least defect 
is said to cause summary rejection. Opinions 
differ as to the quality of Liege firearms, but there 
is one point in which they beat all competitors, 
and that is in the lowness of price. An enormous 
business is done in single-barrelled guns, that are 
sold at fifteen shillings apiece. As this class of 
gun has a rapid and sure sale, the preparation of 



ii6 Belgian Life 

first-class weapons has grown less attractive for 
the workman, who thinks only of earning his liv- 
ing in the easiest and surest way, and who seems 
to be quite content when he makes a pound or 
twenty-five shillings a week. With the view of 
arresting this tendency, and preventing the loss 
of an important branch of the trade, several fac- 
tories for the manufacture of rifles have been 
opened of late years, and there is also a cannon 
foundry. The last-named and one of the rifle fac- 
tories belong to the State. It may be added that 
the former is now busily occupied casting the new 
guns for the Belgian artillery. At all times the 
citizens of I^iege have been noted for their inde- 
pendent, and it might even be said quarrelsome, 
spirit. The fact that each man is more or less his 
own master has greatly contributed to keep alive 
the sentiment of independence, and the working 
classes are organised by leagues, societies, and 
clubs. The Socialists are very powerful, but 
there is also a genuine Catholic, or, as the Kng- 
lish would say, Conservative, party among them. 
Among other manufacturing centres which are 
springing into importance, but which are less 
widely known than Ghent and I^iege, are Gem- 
bloux, Ath, Renaix, and Diest. At Gembloux 
the State railways have established their engine 
and carriage works, which employ several thou- 
sand hands. There is also a factory for excellent 
cutlery at this place. Ath, on the Dender, is the 
centre of the important lime manufacture, and be- 



The Manufacturing Centres 117 

ing in direct water communication by river and 
canal with most parts of Belgium, it is able to de- 
liver this article by the most economical mode of 
transport. Renaix has developed an important 
cloth industry, and Diest is the centre of the 
brewing enterprise of the country, and might be 
compared to Burton-on-Trent. Malines is still 
famous for its lace, although Grammont, interest- 
ing as the first of the communes to receive a 
charter, is running it hard in the matter of 
' * point. ' ' Toumai produces most of the carpets 
to which Brussels gives its name. Artistic car- 
pets are also produced at Termonde, where there 
are extensive oil works. Verviers, a large town 
east of lyiege, flourishes on a considerable manu- 
facture of woollen goods and of glass. Within the 
last few years the competition of German works 
at Kupen has been so keen that several of the 
Belgian glass companies have suspended opera- 
tions. A new industry is being developed in 
cement and a composition that serves as an excel- 
lent pavement. In no manufacturing district of 
Belgium are the vicissitudes of trade through ex- 
ternal competition greater or more sudden than at 
Verviers. 

The condition of the artisan classes in Belgium 
is probably better than in France, although it falls 
a long way below that of English workmen, es- 
pecially as respects hours of labour. These are 
unquestionably long to excess, and are really 
fixed by the will of the employer. The language 



ii8 Belgian Life 

of the law on the employment of children is very 
instructive. No child can be employed in a fac- 
tory or warehouse until it is twelve, which means 
that all children of the working classes begin their 
life of toil at twelve. This explains the stunted 
appearance of the population of the larger towns 
and manufacturing districts. The law says, in 
the second place, that no child under sixteen is 
to be kept at work for more than twelve hours a 
day. If the young can work for this length of 
time, it will be understood that an adult is as- 
sumed to be capable of doing more. At the same 
time, the long hours do not hang as so great a 
burden on the Belgian working man as they would 
on the British. The race has always been accus- 
tomed to early hours, and as there are no great 
distractions except on f^te days, the Belgian takes 
his pleasure in his work. Of course he does not 
work so hard as the British workman used to do 
and still does on piecework, and a very consider- 
able portion of his time must be deducted for gos- 
sip, rest, and sheer idleness. Still, this relief 
is not possible in all employments, and in the 
foundries, for instance, the hours of labour are 
excessive. The Belgian capitalist has benefited 
thereby, and is fond of representing that when the 
hours are reduced the trade will depart elsewhere. 
The thought does not seem to have occurred to 
him that a man may do more work in fifty hours 
a week than he will in seventy-two. 

From a careful estimate made by a Belgian sta- 



The Manufacturing Centres 119 

tistician the average earnings of the Belgian art- 
isan are thirty-three pounds a year, as against 
fortj'-two in England. It is not quite clear how he 
arrives at the figures so far as England is con- 
cerned, but in Belgium he includes child-labour, 
which explains the lowness of the figure. Per- 
sonal inquiries showed me that in Liege and Ghent 
the workmen expect to earn as a minimum four 
francs a day, or about a pound a week. They seem 
to be perfectly contented when they can make five 
francs; but in addition to the earnings of the man 
must be put those of his wife and children. These 
sums go nearly twice as far as in England, for 
three reasons. The Belgian workman is not a 
great meat-eater, his wife is a far better cook and 
manageress than the same class of person in Eng- 
land, and thrift is the national virtue and charac- 
teristic as contrasted with the waste and bad 
management generally displayed and gloried in 
by the British workman's better half To take 
one instance of this difference: There is not a 
woman in Belgium who cannot make an excellent 
and nourishing soup, which forms the foundation 
of the national diet, whereas it would scarcely be 
going too far to say that soup is never seen in the 
homes of English working men. Soup and bread 
form the principal part of the food of the Belgian 
workman; but the bread is full of sustenance, and 
not like that consumed by English people. Ow- 
ing to a perversion of the popular taste, skilfully 
engineered by German bakers, the old household 



I20 Belgian Life 

loaf, which was full of nourishment, has been 
practically abandoned by English working classes 
in favour of a semi-fancy loaf, largely composed 
of German yeast, which has incomparably less 
sustaining qualities, but a little more of the 
flavour of cake. As a consequence, the working 
classes of the towns, and especially of London, 
where the German baker has practically ousted 
every other, exhibit such marked indications of 
physical deterioration as to threaten a national 
peril, since children are now brought up on bread 
which has little or no nutritive qualities. 

The daily life of the factory operative is not as 
easily described as that of the miner, who lives 
under special conditions which differentiate him 
from the regular community. But the mill-hand, 
the potter, or the lace-maker will pursue the mode 
of living agreeable to himself, in complete oblivi- 
ousness of what his fellow- workers may do, except 
in regard to points of common trade interest. The 
bond that links him to his class is that not of his 
work, but of his commune, which is the chief 
source of Belgian unity. Hence any attempt to 
give an account of the daily life of all factory op- 
eratives, as something fashioned in the same pat- 
tern, would be incorrect and misleading. At the 
same time, there are some points about the Bel- 
gian artisan which may seem of interest. His 
condition of life and general well-being furnish no 
inexact index to the national welfare, and, speak- 
ing relatively, they may be pronounced quite as 



The Manufacturing Centres 121 

high as conditions in any country of Europe. The 
Belgian operative has command of all the neces- 
saries of life, and he has also a surplus left for 
some of its luxuries, or, at least, some of its re- 
laxations. His hours of labour may be many, but 
they are lightened by some hours of amusement, 
and a not infrequent holiday ox jour de repos. If 
the cafe does not suffice for his leisure hours, there 
is always the cercle — Catholic, or lyiberal, or So- 
cialist; and the cercle will have its band of music, 
its dancers, and other annual or more frequent 
celebrations. The life of the operative is conse- 
quently by no means dull or unvaried. It is no 
dreary round of labour; there is ample time for 
pleasure, and the Belgian character, whether 
Walloon or Flemish, is not prone to take its 
pleasures sadly. 

If the conditions of life among the operatives or 
artisans are examined more closely, it will be 
found that their material well-being is better than 
first impressions would incline one to think. It 
is quite true that in regard to housing, the Bel- 
gian operatives were, until recently, very badly 
off. In the towns they occupied on the tenement 
system the older streets which fashion and respect- 
ability had long abandoned. Crowded together, 
under conditions which precluded all considera- 
tions of sanitation and even of decency, up side- 
streets or alleys which the rest of the world 
carefully avoided, the quarters occupied by them 
presented all the repellent features of England's 



122 Belgian Life 

old rookeries. These may still be found in all the 
great cities, but a movement of reform has been 
set on foot, and the communal authorities have 
commenced a campaign for purging them of these 
plague spots. The execution of these reforms 
must take a certain time, but already the displace- 
ment of the working classes from their restricted 
quarters to the suburbs, where workmen's cot- 
tages have been specially constructed for them, 
has to a certain extent taken place. In some 
towns more progress has been made than in 
others. For instance, Brussels has carried the 
campaign of expulsion much farther than lyiege 
or Antwerp. This has been rendered possible by 
the excellent systems of tramways and light rail- 
ways, which bring the workman to his place of 
labour rapidly and cheaply. In every other re- 
spect than housing, the Belgian operative is well 
off. His own wages may not be high, but they 
are supplemented by the earnings of his wife and 
his children, all of whom commence to be bread- 
winners at an early age. Taxes do not affect him 
directly; what he pays is contributed indirectly, 
and in such a form that he never realises the pay- 
ment. Food is cheap; drink is cheaper still. 
There is no lack of amusement, and much of it 
gratuitous. Professional politicians tell him that 
he has his grievances, but he does not appear to 
be conscious of them himself. 

In another respect the Belgian working man en- 
joys an advantage which enables him to get the 



The Manufacturing Centres 123 

most out of his small wages. He has his political 
associations and clubs. The * ' Parti Ouvrier ' ' is 
organised throughout the kingdom for political 
agitation and the attainment of universal suffrage. 
But, in addition, certain co-operative societies 
have been formed for retailing to their members 
practically all the articles of which they can have 
any need. These exist in all the large towns, but 
the largest two are those known as the Maison 
du Peuple in Brussels and the Vooruit in Ghent. 
At these stores everything is sold at the cost of 
production, plus five per cent, for the administra- 
tion, from a loaf to the furniture of a house. An 
excellent loaf weighing nearly two pounds and a 
half is sold for twopence, and at the Maison du 
Peuple in Brussels over one hundred and sixty 
thousand such loaves are sold each week. As 
there are sixteen thousand members, the average 
consumption is ten loaves a week, which would 
exceed that in the family of, at all events, the 
I^ondon working man. Latterly these societies 
have taken an active part in the struggle with 
drunkenness by excluding spirits and beer from 
their lists, and in the refreshment- room attached 
to their stores coffee and lemonade are the only 
beverages sold. Although I have mentioned only 
two societies, there are in Belgium about four 
hundred of the same nature. Most of them are 
small in numbers, as the total of the members is 
under sixty thousand, and the Maison du Peuple 
and the Vooruit contain over one third of the 



124 Belgian Life 

number. There are also saving-fund and sick- 
fund branches attached to most of these societies. 
The basis on which they are formed is a monthly 
payment of three francs to the former and one 
franc to the latter. For these subscriptions a mem- 
ber is guaranteed medical attendance and a franc 
a day during illness, and his annual savings are 
practically doubled by the additions made to them 
under the law by the State and also by the pro- 
vince, while there is a further voluntary grant by 
the society itself. As the most staid Belgian 
workman deems that he has the moral right to 
spend a franc a day on his drink, it does not seem 
to be asking him to practise much self-denial to 
put by one franc a week for a rainy day. It is 
right to mention that there are no grounds for sup- 
posing that he grumbles at having to do so. 
Whether the new State Pension Bill will encour- 
age thrift or not remains to be seen. The measure 
came into force in 1900, and by it the Government 
undertakes to pay every working man in need 
after he is sixty-five an annual pension of sixty- 
five francs (^2 12^). The amount, which is less 
than twopence a day, will seem ludicrously small 
to English ears; and thirty years ago M. Frere- 
Orban, one of Belgium's greatest public men, sug- 
gested that the State should pension all workmen 
over fifty-five with a hundred and fifty francs 
(^6), or, as some one said, with half a franc a day 
barring Sundays and f^te days. On this allow- 
ance an old man in Belgium, especially in the 



The Manufacturing Centres 125 

provinces, could subsist very fairly, whereas the 
grant sanctioned will leave him still a candidate 
for charity. Be that as it may, there have been 
a great number of applicants for the pension — far 
more, indeed, than the Government expected, so 
that it had to revise its estimates. The number 
of applicants exceeded the anticipated number by 
thirty thousand, and when the Government sent 
back the lists for more careful compilation, the 
local committees were unable to reduce the num- 
ber to any extent; thereupon they were dismissed. 
This circumstance among others has led to the 
imposition of fresh taxes, the chief of which is the 
increase of the excise. This may be regarded as 
an ingenious manner of getting the working 
classes to pay for their own old age pensions out 
of their earlier habits of self-indulgence, and if it 
produces the expected increase, the amount of the 
workman's pension will, no doubt, be increased 
also. So far the increase has been much less than 
was anticipated. 

Taking a comprehensive view of the position of 
the working classes in Belgium, it will compare 
not unfavourably with that of those in any other 
country. In one particular onl}^ is there pressing 
need of amelioration, and, as we have seen, that 
is the length of the hours of labour. It is prob- 
able that a reform would already have taken place 
in this matter but for the fact that political ques- 
tions have become mixed up with social problems. 
The agitation is not one for eight or nine hours a 



126 



Belgian Life 



day as the regular spell for the working classes in 
factories, but it is one for universal suffrage, the 
abolition of the plural vote, and the fettering of 
capital by the enforcement of Socialist theories of 
distribution and joint participation. It is unfor- 
tunate that these political matters have been con- 
nected with labour questions, and that natural 
concessions have been deferred by the fear of 
what those to whom they were made might do 
afterwards. 




CHAPTER IX 



COUNTRY LIFE IN BKI.GIUM 



AS considerably more than half the population 
of Belgium resides outside the towns, the 
conditions of country life form quite as important 
a part of the nation's existence as those of the 
bourgeois classes. There are parts of the little 
kingdom, such as Luxemburg and Campine, 
where the population is sufficiently sparse to leave 
something like the accepted conditions of genuine 
country life; but in Flanders, Hainaut, and Bra- 
bant, the population is so dense that the farms and 
cottages occupy practically every available spot 
that can be utilised for a building without dimin- 
ishing the area of the cultivable ground. Leaving 
aside the mining districts, the western provinces 
of Belgium present in the main the appearance of 
vast market-gardens without a hedge or a wall. 
The boundaries are marked by nothing more than 
an insignificant trench. The cultivation of wheat 
and cereals generally is being increased; but this 
is due more to the absorption of new land re- 
claimed from forest or heath than to the abandon- 
ment of vegetables. In Flanders, which was 
127 



128 Belgian Life 

formerly given up exclusively to the cultivation 
of roots, however, it is not uncommon to see now- 
adays part of a half-acre plot assigned to a wheat 
crop, and the rest to cabbages. 

If one wishes to study the agricultural system 
of Belgium, and to see what has been accom- 
plished there, a visit should certainly be paid to the 
district called Pays de Waes. This district lies 
west of the Scheldt, and south-west of Antwerp, 
and extends almost to Ghent. Its chief town is 
St. Nicholas, and I^okeren, another town of the 
Waes country, is scarcely less important. In 
1839, the whole of the district was a wild unculti- 
vated tract. Now it is an unbroken expanse of 
gardens and fields, sustaining a resident popula- 
tion of five hundred persons to the square mile. 
There has been no such transformation scene in 
any part of Europe, and it would be a good ex- 
periment to tempt some Belgian agriculturists to 
see what they could accomplish in Ireland. 

Throughout the two Flanders, which produce 
more than half the total crops of the country, 
there are no large lauded proprietors, and the soil 
is parcelled out in small lots among the peasants 
themselves. The farmer class in these provinces 
exists only to this extent, that where the commune 
owns the lands it has chosen to sublet them to a 
farmer with the means to work several hundred 
acres instead of dividing the land into allotments. 
But in Flanders the farmer is the exception, and 
the small proprietor of anything up to five acres is 



Country Life in Belgium 129 

the rule, while in Hainaut and Brabant it is dif- 
ferent. There the farmer class is in the ascend- 
ant. A historical cause lies at the root of this 
difference. Up to the French occupation in 1795, 
the soil of Belgium was the property, in the main, 
of the representatives of the aristocracy, civic as 
well as feudal, and of the Church. The religious 
orders were the chief proprietors, owning more 
than double the cultivated land possessed by the 
nobles. This was explained by the fact that the 
Church owned lands to make them revenue-pro- 
ducing, and possessed the capital to do so. The 
nobles were not rich in capital, and a very large 
proportion of their territorial possessions consisted 
of forest and unreclaimed land. As they kept 
these possessions for the chase, they did not even 
think of developing them. When the French Re- 
public annexed Belgium, all the lands possessed 
by churchmen and nobles were at once made for- 
feit, and the actual occupiers and tillers of the soil 
came into possession. At that time Flanders was 
just as much an agricultural country as it is to- 
day, and there was a large population actually sub- 
sisting upon it. The French law was practically 
carried out, and the Flemish peasants became the 
owners of their own ground, and have remained 
so to this day. But in the other provinces the 
same conditions did not prevail. Only a small 
portion of the soil was under cultivation, the 
population was scanty, and with local exceptions 
there were no peasants eager to take over the 



I30 Belgian Life 

estates that had fallen vacant and that were at their 
disposal. Moreover, the land had to be cleared 
and won over for cultivation, which required capi- 
tal. For these reasons a race of peasant pro- 
prietors was not created in Brabant and Namur as 
had been done in accordance with easily discover- 
able natural laws in Flanders. When the heat of 
the Republicans cooled down, there is no doubt 
that many of the former proprietors recovered 
their possessions partly by occupying what no one 
else claimed, and partly by repurchase from the 
State or the commune on nominal terms. This 
tendency became more marked under the Emperor 
Napoleon, and especially after he made his peace 
with the Pope. After his overthrow, there was a 
general recovery of territorial possessions by the 
aristocracy, subject to the recognition of the rights 
of occupation that had accumulated in twenty 
years. But in Flanders nothing of the sort took 
place. There the new rights entirely displaced 
the old title-deeds. 

The class of great landed proprietors in Belgium 
is exceedingly small, and there are many of the 
old noblesse without any land at all. Those who 
are more fortunate possess as a general rule not 
more than a thousand acres round their country 
residence, and the only great estates, according to 
English ideas, are to be found in the Ardennes and 
Campine, where land possessed little value until a 
quite recent period. The history of the estate of 
the Duke of Wellington, as Duke of Waterloo, in 



Country Life in Belgium 131 

Belgium furnishes an instance of what took place 
when the representatives of the ancient owners re- 
covered the non-productive portion of their estates. 
The Duke was granted, as a reward for his great 
victory in Belgium, a portion of the old forest of 
Soignies. It was about five thousand acres in ex- 
tent; but the only income the great Duke ever de- 
rived from it was from the timber, which must 
have been quite insignificant. Upon his death, 
his son and successor was confirmed in the posses- 
sion of this estate, after some persons had repre- 
sented that it was only granted for the life of the 
first Duke. He then expressed ^the opinion to 
some Belgian oflScials that the estate about which 
so much stir was being made was really valueless, 
whereupon Baron Lambermont advised him to 
place it in the hands of the rSgisseur or manager 
of the Due d' Arenberg, who had vastly improved 
the estates of that nobleman at Knghien and else- 
where. The advice was followed, and in a few 
years the timber was all cut down and sold, and 
on his part of the old forest a number of farms 
were created. The estate then for the first time 
brought in an income; but the story is told here 
merely to illustrate the process which went on gen- 
erally in Belgium outside Flanders after Waterloo, 
and in a still more marked degree after the estab- 
lishment of an independent kingdom. 

The conditions of life among the agricultural 
classes of Flanders would be considered intolerably 
hard by the agricultural labourer in England, and 



132 Belgian Life 

even the sense of possessing the land on which 
they toil would not atone for such conditions. 
The Flemish peasant, or proprietor, labours all 
day, and his day is the long one from sunrise until 
well after sunset. Any one who has lived in the 
Belgian provinces has seen grey figures moving 
along the roads or across the fields while gleams 
of light alone showed the dawn of the coming day. 
They wish to be at their work, discontinued late 
the night before, as soon as there is sufficient light 
to enable them to resume it. They are working 
for themselves, and very likely they would grum- 
ble if they were asked to do it for a master. But 
it is not only the men, but also the women who 
work thus. There are, of course, household 
duties and work at home to be performed; but 
these do not prevent the women and girls from 
toiling in the fields as well. Market-gardening 
carried on in the fashion of the Continent, where 
nothing is wasted, cannot be considered an alto- 
gether pleasant or even healthy occupation. It is 
certainly not calculated to elevate in intelligence 
those who take part in it, and as a matter of fact 
the vast body of Flemish labourers in the fields 
are sunk in a state of extraordinary ignorance for 
the twentieth century. Their education is prac- 
tically nothing at all, but they are sound Catho- 
lics, and it is not thought to be to the interest of 
the Church, or of the party that claims that desig- 
nation, that they should progress in worldly 
knowledge. 



Country Life in Belgium 133 

Judging the people of the Flemish plains by a 
cursory inspection, the conclusion come to would 
probably be that they must be exceedingly miser- 
able and unhappy, and it requires a far more inti- 
mate knowledge than most foreigners are ever 
likely to take the trouble to acquire to discover 
that such is not really the case. Their workaday 
clothes are not of a character to impress the ob- 
server with a perception of anything in their 
favour. They are certainly not picturesque, and 
they are generally very dirty. All the peasants 
wear the wooden sabot, yellow in colour and 
clumsy in form, coarse, grey worsted stockings, 
short trousers tied with a ribbon above the calf, 
and a linen smock. The usual headgear of the 
men is a cap with a peak, and the women have 
linen bonnets with a kind of hood over the fore- 
head. If their dress is plain, their living is still 
plainer. Their breakfast consists of no more than 
coffee and rye bread, their mid-day meal of bread 
and butter, or grease — tartine — with which they 
sometimes have cheese or a little cold bacon, and 
their supper of soup and bread. On Sundays and 
fete days they have hot bacon, and occasionally 
rabbits or fish. Fresh meat never comes their 
way, and is practically unknown. On the other 
hand, they eat great quantities of vegetables, 
cooked and uncooked, and dandelion salads are 
the luxury of the Belgian peasant. It is some- 
what difficult to get at an idea of the results of 
their toil; but the average amount of the produce 



134 Belgian Life 

of the land has been reckoned at five hundred 
francs, or twenty pounds, the half-acre. On this 
sum a Flemish famil}'' will contrive to live, hav- 
ing no rent to pay, and supplementing the pro- 
duce of field with a pig and poultry. There are 
six hundred and fifty thousand men and boys 
employed in agriculture alone. 

In order to correct the depressing effect of the 
spectacle of these peasant proprietors in their 
week-day costumes, when they strike the observer 
as mere drudges bound in misery, it is as well to 
take a glance at the same people on Sundays, go- 
ing to mass or returning from it. The whole 
population goes; there are no non-attendants here, 
except those persons who are ill or bedridden. 
And what do we see ? All the men wear respect- 
able black suits and boots; the women are well 
dressed and carry themselves well, and there are 
bright-coloured parasols to protect from the sun 
the girls and young women who have been toiling 
in the fields all the week with no protection save 
a linen hood. It is difiicult to realise that these 
are the same people; but it is quite clear from 
their animated conversation and laughter that they 
are far from unhappy or dissatisfied with their lot. 

In the Walloon country the conditions of agri- 
cultural life are quite different. The country 
population is scanty, and the cultivation of the 
land is in the hands of farmers who have rented it 
from the landowners or from the communes. The 
inhabitants show a tendency to gather in little 



Country Life in Belgium 135 

towns, and not to spread over the country in de- 
tached cottages close to their work but separated 
from their fellow-beings. When the outskirts of 
a townlet or large village are passed, not a house 
will be found along the road until the next village 
is reached. Now, in Flanders the cottages are 
scattered all over the country, and dot the chaus- 
see, or high-road. There is another marked dif- 
ference. In Flanders the country house, with any 
extent of garden or park land attached, is quite a 
rarity. There are still a few old manor houses 
left, but they have only a small piece of ground 
round them. But in Liege, Limburg, and Lux- 
emburg it is different. There are still a certain 
number of old chdteaux and chalets left, and rich 
manufacturers from the cities have built a good 
many new country houses. All these have gar- 
dens and coverts attached to them. Some of the 
old houses are singularly picturesque and strik- 
ing, such as the chateau of Mirwart; and the 
chdteau of Dave, with its forest of many thousand 
acres, is quite imposing. The majority of the old 
country houses resemble a manor house or me- 
diaeval farm-house in England. They are almost 
uniformly built of a yellowish-brown stone, which 
is taken from the Luxemburg quarries. They 
have generally farm-buildings attached, some- 
times in unpleasant proximity to the residence. 
These old houses harmonise with the landscape, 
and suggest the existence of a country life which 
might be compared with that of England. But 



I 36 Belgian Life 

none of the members of the petite noblesse, to 
which they mainly belong have much income, 
and consequently their mode of living is conducted 
on lines of the strictest economy. They are also 
very exclusive, not so much perhaps from family 
pride — for the history of these families is quite 
provincial, and the majority of their names have 
never been heard of outside of their little circle — 
as from the dislike to being eclipsed by the wealthy 
new-comers from the towns. They keep to them- 
selves and their own set, giving a few dinners in 
the course of the 3^ear to their relatives, and invit- 
ing a few of their neighbours whom they regard 
as equals. These dinners are always held at one 
o'clock, and the afternoon is passed in testing the 
quality of the host's Burgundy, the favourite 
wine of the Belgians, which is nowhere found in 
greater perfection than in the cellar of an Arden- 
nes connoisseur. All these country gentlemen 
call themselves sportsmen, but there is very little 
game on which they can exercise their skill, ow- 
ing to the absence of any system of preserving. 
Rabbits alone can be described as plentiful. It is 
the fashion, however, for a certain number to club 
together and rent a chasse in one or other of the 
forests owned by the communes. Here a certain 
amount of game of a miscellaneous sort is to be 
had, and during the season a subscriber may hope 
to get as his share some venison and a little less 
wild-boar. Pheasants are only to be found on the 
well-stocked preserves of the Count de lyimburg 



Country Life in Belgium 137 

Stirum, and a few other noblemen. Teal and 
wild-duck still abound, however, on the upper 
courses of the Ourthe, and woodcock and snipe 
are also plentiful throughout the Meuse valley. 
During part of the season everybody is allowed to 
snare these birds at their pleasure. 

In striking contrast with the old houses, repre- 
senting the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
is the modern villa or chalet, which the manufac- 
turer or shopkeeper, having made a competence, 
constructs as his maison de campagne. This is 
always built of some brick or stone of glaring 
colours. White, red, and yellow, are the favourite 
colours, with green verandahs and window-frames, 
and grey or blue slate roofs. It is, in fact, the fa- 
vourite town house, to which covered balconies for 
the purpose of enjoying the air and the view have 
been added, transported bodily into the country. 
Such villas are evidence of the liking that the Bel- 
gians have for country life, although they do not 
add to the beauty of the landscape. There must 
always be something incongruous in the appear- 
ance of a yellow matchbox-like house, rising out 
of the wooded crest of a hill, that presents in itself 
a charming and perfect bank of verdure. At the 
same time it must be allowed that this attraction 
of wealthy families from the towns to the country 
is a benefit to the inhabitants of those provinces 
where there has never been much wealth or any 
rich class of residents to develop it. Kvery fa- 
voured spot in the region named has its well-to- 



138 Belgian Life 

do resident from I^iege or Brussels, and as soon as 
one settles down others follow at no long interval. 
The La Roche valley, for instance, is overlooked 
by a considerable number of these villas, and 
many Liege manufacturers permanently reside at 
their country houses on the banks of the Vesdre 
and the Ambl^ve. These new-comers, although 
they evince a partiality for the country by fixing 
their residence in it, do not take up with the pur- 
suits of the country. They really live a town life 
in the country. They do not drive much in the 
sense of traversing distance, and they walk less. 
They only saunter about their places, if the phrase 
may be used. Even gardening, in which they 
take most interest, is done in a languid fashion. 
They pass a great part of the day in the open air, 
sitting on their balconies, built specially to com- 
mand the view, which never loses its charm for 
them. In fact they have raised the habit of doing 
nothing in the open air to the level of a science. 

Formerly the provinces of Luxemburg, Namur, 
and Liege contained very little but forest or heath 
land, and it was the fashion to speak of the soil 
as too poor to produce anything. In those days 
the population had little or no means of earning a 
livelihood, except as foresters or workers in the 
quarries. But all this is changing. The forests 
have been much thinned, and in many parts have 
quite disappeared. Poor as the soil may have 
been, it now produces crops. The uplands are 
rich with corn fields in the summer; in the valleys 



Country Life in Belgium 139 

are meadows and orchards; and it is a curious 
sight to see the cows being led to eat the grass 
which is sown in narrow strips between the crops, 
so that they may not stray on to the ground under 
cultivation. As the consequence of this change 
in the character of the country, the existence of 
the Walloon peasantry is less hard and penurious 
than it used to be. There is a great deal more 
life and activity in the country, and consequently 
there is more money. 

The houses of the Walloon peasantry are more 
substantial and attractive-looking than those of 
the Flemish peasants. They are generally built 
of stone, and slates are easily obtainable from the 
numerous slate quarries; while in Flanders the 
houses are brick, covered with stucco, which is 
generally painted, or rather washed, with a yellow 
mixture. The ground-floor usually consists of 
one large room that is both sitting-room and 
kitchen, while at the back there is a wash-house. 
Two or three bedrooms overhead and a loft under 
the roof generally complete the accommodation. 
There is often a cellar, and a pent-house, for the 
storage of wood : for the collection of undergrowth 
in the forests is unrestricted, and at the com- 
mencement of winter there is a free distribution 
of firewood by the communes. Poultry and the 
small vegetable garden supplement the earnings 
of the householders, and during the summer 
months at least there is plenty of work going on 
through the large influx of visitors from other 



I40 Belgian Life 

parts of Belgium and from foreign countries. The 
Walloon is just as restricted in his diet as his 
Flemish co-nationalists. He lives on meagre 
fare, and flourishes on it; but he does not work as 
hard as the Flemings do. He is more easily- 
contented, and spends a good deal of his day in 
gossip. The Walloons of Liege are, however, 
different from those of Luxemburg. They are a 
bigger and a burlier race, probably because they 
are meat-eaters, and they are the most impressive 
type among the Belgian nationalities. 

Country life in Belgium is pleasant enough dur- 
ing the fine weather of summer and autumn, but 
in the winter it requires all the available philo- 
sophy of those who have to remain in the pro- 
vinces. There is practically nothing to be done. 
Those who have to gain their own living depend 
during the winter on what they have put by in 
the summer. If it has been a good season they 
are comfortable; if visitors have been few, they 
are pinched, and relieved when the spring brings 
fresh hope. Those who have not the care of daily 
existence upon their shoulders pass through the 
winter months in a state of stagnation, or, over- 
powered at last by ennui, rush off to Brussels or 
Liege. As has been said, rural Belgium is merely 
a repetition of town life; there is no genuine coun- 
try life at all. A Belgian goes into the provinces 
to move at his ease, to enjoy the open air when it 
is fine, and to hurry back to his city as soon as 
the leaves are off the trees, and the November 



Country Life in Belgium 141 

mists and snow begin to put in an appearance. 
The less fortunate country gentleman, who has 
no town residence, has to put up with things. 
The only excitement he will be likely to have is 
when the wild-boars are driven by the cold to 
leave the forest for the farms in search of food, 
and then a great battue is organised, in which 
he will take a leading part. 




CHAPTER X 

THE DEAD CITIES OF EXPANDERS 

THE contrast between the Ardennes and the 
tame, flat, scenery of Flanders and north- 
ern Belgium generally is not more marked than 
that between the bustling activity of Brussels, 
Antwerp, Liege, and Ghent, on the one hand, and 
the sleepy tranquillity of the once famous cities 
of Flanders on the other. Great as their names 
are in mediaeval history and romance, Bruges, 
Courtrai, and Ypres, have long been classed as 
dead cities, while their neighbours and former 
rivals or dependencies, Comines, Poperinghe, and 
Audenarde, have been almost forgotten. Even if 
they remained quite as dead as they have been 
alleged to be, they must, however, always possess 
a profound interest for the student of history, the 
archaeologist, and even for the dreamer who, out 
of their old world charm, is able to evoke the 
memories of their storied past. 

Of all these places Bruges has best preserved its 

ancient grandeur. A portion of the old walls still 

remains, the gates which were closed behind 

Maximilian are to-day in use, the house of the 

142 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 143 

Franc, or the free district, which was classed with 
Bruges as one of the States, looks down on the 
canal, dead and stagnant as itself, and the Cathe- 
dral that witnessed the installation of the Knights 
of the Golden Fleece, and the funeral of Charles 
the Bold, is still frequented by the religious ele- 
ment of the old city, and visitors from all quarters 
of the world. But in the other cities of Flanders 
little is left to call up the memory of perished 
greatness. They preserve some monument of the 
past — a church, a town hall, or a belfry — which, 
in spite of not always judicious renovation, repre- 
sents with sufficient fidelity the period of the great 
communes, and that is all. 

It is somewhat remarkable that Bruges has not 
shared in the marked industrial revival which has 
taken place at Ghent in the last fifty years. When 
Belgium became an independent kingdom, there 
was no great disparity in their respective popula- 
tions, although it used even then to be said that a 
large number of the citizens of Bruges were beg- 
gars. To-day Ghent has nearly four times the 
population of Bruges, the result of the energy 
which revived its prosperity, while Bruges, the 
old sister city, has remained sunk in indigence, 
through the inertia of its own citizens. This dif- 
ferent result might appear the more remarkable 
since of the two places Bruges seems to possess 
the greater natural advantages. It is, for in- 
stance, nearer the sea, with which it has long 
possessed communication by two canals, one to 



144 Belgian Life 

Terneuzen and the other to Ostend, both of which 
were navigable by ships of a certain tonnage. But 
they were used to only a moderate extent, and it 
is probable, when the work to which I am about 
to refer has been completed, that they will be 
abandoned. 

Ten years ago a project was set on foot to con- 
nect Bruges with the North Sea by a new canal 
sufficiently deep for large ocean-going steamers. 
In the days of her greatness, ships used to proceed 
direct from England and the Mediterranean to 
Bruges, or rather to Damme, which lies just out- 
side one of the city gates. There was then a 
navigable river or inlet from the sea, called the 
Zwyn, but this was gradually filled with sand, and 
ceased to be available for ships in the year 1489. 
From that date the prosperity of Bruges steadily 
declined, and it has long been a thing of the past. 
The existing canals are not suitable for enlarge- 
ment, and one has the defect of debouching in 
Holland. The Manchester Ship Canal suggested 
the idea of constructing an entirely new channel 
to the sea, that would make Bruges, as its pro- 
moters somewhat grandiloquently said, a seaport. 
Work on this ship-canal was begun in 1897, ^^^ 
is still in progress. As the distance is only ten 
miles, the rate of construction has not been rapid; 
but slow and sure is a Belgian characteristic. 
The line of the canal is traced in an almost due 
northerly direction from Bruges through Dudzeele 
to a point on the coast a little west of Heyst. The 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 145 

name of Zeebrugge has been given to the new 
outlet, and in the hope of making the pier-head a 
place of call for ocean steamers passing from other 
ports to the Atlantic, an iron pier, ending in a 
stone breakwater and jetty, has been carried out 
over a mile into the sea to reach the navigable 
channel from and to the Scheldt. To effect this 
object a further prolongation of the pier has be- 
come necessary. It is thus hoped to make Bruges, 
which would be close to the sea, and a port prefer- 
able to Antwerp for traffic with Belgium, once 
more the great emporium and distributing centre 
of Flanders, and when persons interested in the 
supremacy of Antwerp expressed apprehension 
lest Bruges thus restored might injure their city, 
the assurance was given that it was intended to 
develop the large province of West Flanders, 
where apart from agricultural prosperity affairs 
had for many generations been stagnant. The 
main idea of the canal, then, is to restore life and 
activity to the long dead cities of Flanders. Up 
to the present time there is not much evidence of 
any such change. The Bruges of the Early Flem- 
ish exhibition in 1902 was the same quiet and life- 
less town, apart from the foreign tourist, that it 
has been at any time during the last century. 
There were a great many more tourists, and the 
hotels were uncomfortably crowded, but that was 
the only difference. Still, no one can say what 
may happen when ocean liners are berthed in the 
new Bassin de Commerce, and the old ramparts 



146 Belgian Life 

are as frequented by foreign sailors as the quays 
at Antwerp. Modern activity and mediaeval 
peace cannot long subsist side by side, and the 
erection of factories and warehouses must prove 
too much for the prolonged existence of such Old 
World, stone-flagged streets as those of Vieux 
Bourg and Notre Dame, in which the grass may 
sometimes be seen springing up between the flags. 
The monuments of Bruges — the Halles with 
their world-known Belfry, and the Hotel de Ville, 
representing in part or in whole the thirteenth and 
fourteenth centuries, the still older Chapelle du 
Saint Sang, the fine Cathedral of St. Sauveur, and 
the finer Church of Notre Dame, the Hospital of 
St. Jean, with its priceless Memlings, and the 
Gothic Church of St. Jacques — these will all re- 
main; but whereas they now form part of a town 
whose appearance harmonises with them, they 
will become, under the effect of modern improve- 
ments, curiosities of a past that will have finally 
disappeared and left them alone as its represent- 
atives. It is the inevitable march of civilisation 
and prosperity. There will be fewer beggars; but, 
on the other hand, Bruges will no longer be the 
place for families that wish to economise. For 
many years Bruges was the seat of a considerable 
Knglish colony, which settled down there because 
living was cheap, and because there were good 
educational facilities. But for some time this 
colony has been diminishing from natural causes, 
among which may be named the increase in the 




THE BELFRY AT BRUGES 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 147 

cost of living and the closing of some of the best 
schools. It is no longer the fashion, as was once 
the case, to send young Englishmen to Bruges to 
learn French. If they go to Belgium at all nowa- 
days, they go to Brussels. The principal resi- 
dents of Bruges are some of the old Flemish civic 
families who, having made a sufficient fortune 
elsewhere, fix upon Bruges for their abode, and 
lead a retired life behind the walls of some of the 
old-fashioned stone houses, of which all that the 
visitor can see are the porte-cochere and the win- 
dows, carefully screened with lace curtains, and 
protected by strong wooden shutters, which are 
fastened by a key on the outside. These people 
are very proud, notwithstanding their simplicity, 
and lead a life of strict exclusiveness. Their 
chief, if not their only, friends are their relations; 
but despite a good many in-marriages, this system 
of limiting the acquaintance to blood-connections 
still allows of a considerable society. In Bruges, 
it has been kept a little more exclusive through 
the absence, practically speaking, of the rich 
manufacturer and tradesmen. These have gone 
elsewhere, or remain where they made their for- 
tunes, and no fortunes have been made in Bruges 
for centuries past. It has all the respectability of 
an English provincial town, with a quaintness and 
sadness that while they last are all its own. 

Courtrai, by reason of the great part it played 
among the Flemish communes, has a fair claim to 
rank next to Bruges in importance and interest. 



148 Belgian Life 

In the past each of them had a population exceed- 
ing two hundred thousand. To-day, Bruges has 
a little more than forty thousand and Courtrai 
about thirty thousand inhabitants. But the con- 
trast between them could not be greater than it is. 
Bruges preserves much of its ancient appearance, 
and possesses monuments that will always make 
it one of the most original cities of Europe; but 
Courtrai possesses nothing in its aspect, position, 
or monuments at all calculated to recall the days 
of its prosperity and fame. The Church of Notre 
Dame, which was commenced by the ninth Bald- 
win in 1 199 and completed in 121 1, has been sev- 
eral times restored, and even the Counts' Chapel, 
which is two centuries later, has suffered much, 
and the figures of the counts and countesses have 
been restored within the last few years, which 
gives them a brand-new appearance. The finest 
thing in the church is comparatively quite mod- 
ern, Vandyke's painting of the Erection of the 
Cross, one of his masterpieces. But of the Cour- 
trai that fought and won the Battle of the Spurs, 
and that paid heavy contributions to Maximilian 
and to Charles the Fifth, virtually nothing is left. 
The town is uninteresting even in its modern 
aspect, and the activity of the present-day builder 
in erecting factories for the linen industry, and 
residences for their owners and workpeople, which 
is visible in all directions, is not of a nature to 
embellish the town or to make it more picturesque. 
There is one thing, however, that Courtrai is, 




PONT DE BROEL AT COURTRAI 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 149 

and always has been, proud of, the memory of the 
Battle of the Spurs, fought underneath its walls 
in July of the year 1302. This battle not only es- 
tablished the reputation of the Flemish footmen, 
who there inflicted the first great defeat that the 
chivalry of France had ever suffered, but it prac- 
tically saved Flanders from falling to the House 
of Anjou. The occasion of its six hundredth an- 
niversary in 1902 was seized for a great local cele- 
bration. The fetes went on for a good fortnight, 
and on the site of the marsh of Guinegate, in 
which the French horsemen were overwhelmed, 
a monument was erected. The city walls 
that looked down on the marsh, and from which 
the women and children watched the progress of 
the struggle, have long since disappeared, and the 
centre of the battle-field is now a grass-grown 
avenue. The seven hundred pairs of gold spurs 
hung up in the Church of Notre Dame gave their 
name to the battle, but it is uncertain how long 
they remained there. All that is shown at the 
present time are a few wooden copies gilded over 
to resemble the originals. Yet the good people of 
Courtrai are not so dull of mood as not to think 
that in the brave days of old their ancestors did a 
fine thing for liberty on that summer morning so 
long ago. For that reason the citizen of Courtrai 
squares his shoulders and thinks himself a fine 
fellow in a way that would seem presumptuous if 
attempted by a man of Bruges. At the same time 
the commercial activity of Courtrai is some proof 



I50 Belgian Life 

that Flanders contains the germs of a new life. 
Courtrai has become the Larne of Belgium. Its 
linen manufactures are well known in foreign 
countries, and its table necessaries are almost 
famous. The population has doubled in a little 
less than thirty years. If that fact does not con- 
clusively prove vigorous life and strenuous ac- 
tivity, then the conclusions generally drawn from 
statistics must all be erroneous. 

Ypres, the third of the Flemish cities, has not 
felt the touch of revival that has fallen on Cour- 
trai, though on the other hand, it has finer monu- 
ments of the past. The intense trade rivalry of 
the Flemish cities was their bane and weakness. 
We vShall see how Ypres treated Poperinghe; but 
Ypres itself suffered heavily at the hands of 
Ghent in 1383, when man)^ of the weavers took 
refuge in England. From that year its decline 
was rapid, and Ypres ceased to play a prominent 
part in the councils of Flanders. Its two great 
memorials of that olden time are the Clothmarket 
Hall and the Cathedral of St. Martin, both dating 
from the thirteenth century. The Hall is the 
oldest specimen of its kind in Belgium, and it is 
practically untouched. The fagade is about four 
hundred and sixty feet long and is simple and 
severe, presenting a double row of ogival win- 
dows, small turrets at each end, and a lofty belfry 
in the centre. The belfry is about two hundred 
and thirty feet in height, and is flanked by small 
towers. The only additions to the building in 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 151 

modern times are the statues placed in niches on 
the facade of thirty-one counts of Flanders and 
thirteen countesses. In its way there is not a finer 
or more typical monument to be seen in Belgium. 
The Cathedral of St. Martin is well entitled to be 
placed in close proximity to it. It also dates from 
the thirteenth century, although the tower was 
not added until the fifteenth. The whole is a 
very fine specimen of late Gothic, and the in- 
terior contains some very fine oak carving and a 
richly decorated organ-loft. Bishop Jansenius, the 
founder of the Jansenist sect, is buried in a Gothic 
cloister which formed part of the older church 
that occupied the same site. The Hotel de Ville 
is also an interesting monument of the sixteenth 
century, but the old-time effect is rather dimin- 
ished by the presence of a large number of modern 
pictures somewhat garish in colour. The present 
prosperity of Ypres, such as it is, is derived from 
a modest lace industry, supplemented by the fact 
that a considerable amount of activity and life is 
brought to the place through its being the spot 
where the riding-school for officers of the Belgian 
cavalry has been established. 

Audenarde, or Oudenaerde, is another Flemish 
city of old repute. Lying sixteen miles east of 
Courtrai, on the banks of the Scheldt, its fortunes 
were generally linked with those of Ghent. Its 
chief attraction is its Hotel de Ville, which com- 
petes with that of Louvain as the most ornate in 
Belgium. It was built in the reign of Charles V., 



152 Belgian Life 

and underwent a process of restoration some years 
ago that has done less mischief than such processes 
generally accomplish. There is an extremely fine 
oak chimney-piece in the council chamber, but 
otherwise the interior is disappointing. Auden- 
arde, famous as the birthplace of Margaret of 
Parma, and for Marlborough's victory over the 
French in 1708, supports some local industries 
which make it resemble Ghent rather than the 
cities of West Flanders, which lie out of the 
beaten track. 

Comines, lying at the apex of a triangle, of 
which the base would be formed by a line drawn 
from Ypres to Courtrai, is showing some symp- 
toms of revival, but it has no other claim to notice 
than that of being the birthplace of Philip de 
Comines, the chronicler of the reign of Louis XI. 
Poperinghe, west of Comines, once threatened the 
supremacy of Ypres, but the citizens of that town 
came down upon it in overwhelming force and put 
an end to its pretensions by fire and sword. This 
was in 13 13, and when Ypres itself was served in 
similar fashion by Ghent in 1383, the retribution 
seemed only just. Of its former greatness Poper- 
inghe preserves only the fine church of St. Bertin, 
which dates from the thirteenth century. Furnes 
is the last of these old Flemish towns that need be 
named. It is now a placid place, chiefly because 
it is the centre of the butter-producing district and 
as the station for La Panne, a fashionable bathing 
resort on the sea-coast. In the Middle Ages it 




TOWN HALL AT OUDENARDE 



The Dead Cities of Flanders 153 

stood high in the second rank among Flemish 
cities; now it has only five thousand inhabitants. 
Its chief memorials of the past are two unfinished 
churches, both of which were commenced in the 
fourteenth century on the large scale that the im- 
portance of Furnes at that time seemed to j ustify , 
but which owing to its rapid decline no one has 
since had the courage to complete. 

For those who wish to make a visit to these 
Flemish towns south of Bruges, Ypres is the best 
stopping point as well as the most important from 
the character of its monuments. There is con- 
venient railway communication between all the 
places named, and a few hours in each will satisfy 
the curiosity of the most inquisitive visitor. Au- 
denarde is within easy distance of Ghent. The 
impression made on the visitor to West Flanders 
at the present time is that there is an immense 
agricultural activity, and that the towns are, to 
some extent, waking up. Courtrai in particular 
shows symptoms of marked progress, and the 
banks of the Lys are covered with factories and 
warehouses. What will happen at Bruges is still 
uncertain. The ship-canal may turn it into a 
noisy port and place of trade. On the other 
hand, the port and landing-stage on the coast 
may be frequented by passing steamers and used 
as a regular place of call; but the canal behind it 
may not have much traffic, in which case Bruges 
will continue to be very much what it it. There 
is even a possibility that the opinions of the critics 



154 Belgian Life 

who took a pessimistic view of this ship-canal at 
the commencement will be confirmed, and that the 
inroads of the sea and the heavy deposit of sand 
carried with it will, before many years, close the 
entrance to the new canal — at least for large 
steamers. The breakwater has been so con- 
structed as to throw a protecting arm in front of 
the entrance to the canal, and a very large ex- 
penditure in addition to the original estimate of 
^1,100,000 has* already been incurred. Apart 
from this enterprise and its influence, at present 
unascertainable, on the fortunes and aspect of 
Bruges, there is nothing likely to hasten greatly 
the development of the old cities of Flanders. 
They are benefiting in their turn from the grow- 
ing prosperity of the rest of the country, but West 
Flanders, with its sand-bound coast, must always 
lie outside the main stream of commercial activity 
in Belgium. Its population is not likely to find 
any more profitable pursuit than that, so long 
carried on, of agriculture. 




CHAPTER XI 



EDUCATION AND RKIvIGIOUS ASPECTS 



CONSIDERING the illiteracy of the larger 
half of the population of Belgium, it ma}^ 
be surprising to learn that a primary school ex- 
ists in every commune over 6500 in number, and 
that the law of the land is free education for those 
who cannot pay for it. The course in these schools 
should produce better results than are obtained by 
it, for it embraces a good deal more than the three 
R's. While history and geography are compul- 
sory, drawing and singing are optional. The 
girls are taught to sew, and in the provinces 
the boys are instructed in the rudiments of 
agriculture, and in the towns in a trade. If 
the prescribed course were carried out with 
good superintendence it should produce adequate 
results. 

The true explanation of the inadequate results 
ensuing from a system of what might be called 
compulsory education is to be found in the fact 
that all primary schools are managed by the com- 
munes, and not by the Government. Any private 
school, which means for the great majority one 
155 



156 Belgian Life 

attached to a religious order, may be selected as 
the comtQunal school, and so far as female educa- 
tion goes this is the rule. Its directors have to 
conform to the law and to rest content with the 
meagre grant of Government and the contribu- 
tion, fixed by the commune, from parents who 
are assumed to be able to pay something for the 
education of their children. This contribution is 
fixed by reference to the taxes paid, and persons 
who pay less than ten francs annually to the State 
are free everywhere, while in the largest towns, 
where a higher scale is in force, the limit is thirty 
francs. 

In the primary schools education, except for 
those who contemplate entering some department 
of the administration which entails passing 
through the ecoles moyennes^ practically ceases at 
twelve, when the age of labour is reached, al- 
though the law assumes that education continues 
until the child is fourteen. What is learned be- 
fore twelve under far more favourable circum- 
stances than prevail in Belgium is soon forgotten, 
and the illiteracy of the country is to be explained 
by the inevitable relapse following the premature 
interruption and discontinuance even of primary 
education. It is probable also that the poor re- 
sults attained are traceable to the deficiencies of 
the teaching staff", which is recruited from the 
pupils of the schools themselves. Those who pass 
from the primary school to the icole moyenne, and 
take a certificate at the latter, are eligible for a 



Education and Religious Aspects 157 

mastership, and the appointment is made solely 
by the communal authorities. State supervision 
only comes in to the extent of stipulating that the 
teacher shall possess this certificate, and that he 
shall not receive a lower salary than one thousand 
francs, or /^^o a year. Considering that the prizes 
of the profession are headmasterships, for which 
the pay ranges from ^48 in small to ^96 in large 
towns, it will be evident that even in Belgium, 
where all regular salaries run in low figures, no 
very high order of intellectual attainment is ex- 
pected. The only additions that are possible to 
those salaries are an allowance for house rent, 
ranging from ^8 to ^32 a year, acording to the 
size of the town, and an annual increase of ^i a 
year up to /^2^ a year. The maximum salary- 
after twenty-four years' service is, in a small com- 
mune, ;^8o a year, and in a town of over one hun- 
dred thousand inhabitants, of which there are 
only four in Belgium, ;^i52 a year. 

The State comes in to the extent of providing 
District Inspectors, who are required to visit their 
schools once a year, and to hold quarterly meet- 
ings of the teachers in their districts. These Dis- 
trict Inspectors are in turn subordinate to Chief 
Inspectors, of whom there is one for each pro- 
vince, or nine in all. They are supposed to visit 
the schools once in two years, and they report di- 
rect to the Minister of Education. The maximum 
salary of a District Inspector is ^180 a year, and 
of a Chief Inspector ^300 a j^ear. These salaries 



158 Belgian Life 

are only reached after many years' service. The 
most careful inspection cannot, however, remove 
the defects of the system, which arise from the fact 
that education is discontinued at too early an age 
to leave any durable impression. This is espe- 
cially the case in Flanders and Hainaut, where 
there is a general demand for child labour. No 
marked improvement can be expected under com- 
munal control, which is lax in the sense of being 
easily satisfied and devoid of any high ideal. If 
things are kept in the old groove all is consid- 
ered well; the thought of progress is not seriously 
entertained. 

The influence of the Church is exercised in 
the same direction. By the law the teaching 
of religion, which forms part of the subjects in 
primary schools, is not compulsory, and child- 
ren need not attend the class while instruction 
is being given in that subject. The law also 
enjoins respect for other creeds than the Roman 
Catholic faith; but as there are no other creeds 
except ten thousand (mostly foreign) Protestants 
and four thousand Jews, this stipulation does not 
impose much restraint on the harmony of the 
playground. Practically speaking, the influence 
of the Church is supreme, and where the interven- 
tion of the Socialist element causes absence from 
the prayer hours, it may be shrewdly suspected 
that a practical revenge is taken by not paying 
great attention to the progress of the defaulting 
pupils. Moreover, it is an established maxim of 



Education and Religious Aspects 159 

the Church of Rome that education, far from 
being an aid, may be an obstruction to salva- 
tion, the only matter in its creed of essential 
importance. 

The icoles moyennes^ to which only a compara- 
tively small minority from the primary schools 
pass, give better results, and the education of the 
middle classes is acquired in them, or in the some- 
what superior schools called Athenees Royaux. 
The real cause of the superiority of these institu- 
tions is that they are not wholly dependent on the 
commune, but are controlled to some extent by 
the Minister of Education, whose department 
makes all appointments to the teaching staff, and, 
where it provides the funds, prescribes the books 
that are to be used. The law left the right to 
the provinces and communes to establish these 
middle schools, and to retain the control of them 
subject to the two conditions named. This was 
due to the desire of the Catholic party to pre- 
vent education from becoming a strictly State 
affair, as desired and recommended by the Liber- 
als. One of the leaders of the Clericals on that 
occasion laid down the following principles in the 
Chamber: *' Instruction is not a public obligation, 
it is the duty of the parent and not of the State. 
The State may, under certain circumstances, come 
to the father's aid by opening for his child- 
ren teaching establishments, but it has not the 
right to force these establishments on any one." 
Views such as these explain the backwardness of 



i6o Belgian Life 

education in Belgium, for they reflect the princi- 
ples held by the most poweful political party in 
the country. 

The Athenies are the highest form of scholastic 
institution in the country. They are entirely in- 
dependent of the commune, and, in a certain 
sense, they are under the direct supervision of the 
King, hence the use of the term " royal." Class- 
ics and mathematics are taught in them, and some 
arrangements are made for the reception of board- 
ers by the assistant-masters. There are only 
twenty Athenees throughout the country, and 
some of these, such as the one at Bouillon, have 
very few pupils. The Jesuits have a first-class 
school in Brussels, and the best education is ob- 
tainable there of any institution in the country. 

There are four universities in Belgium, two 
subject to the State, and two what are called 
" free." The former are at Liege and Ghent, the 
latter at Brussels and Louvain. " Free" means 
not under the State; those of Brussels and I^ouvain 
represent the opposing parties in the State. Brus- 
sels is lyiberal, and Louvain is Clerical and 
Catholic. There is nothing remarkable in the 
the course beyond its comprehensiveness, and at 
State Universities there is a branch for techni- 
cal instruction, which is of the greatest possible 
value for those who intend to become architects, 
engineers, mining-engineers, and land-surveyors. 
There is probably not a better teaching college in 
Europe for all departments of engineering than the 



Education and Religious Aspects i6i 

technical school at Liege University. The dura- 
tion of the academic year is nine months and a 
half, divided into two equal periods, so that the 
studies are only twice interrupted, for two months 
in August and September, and for a fortnight at 
Baster. The system has another merit in its re- 
markable cheapness. The annual fee for any of 
the courses varies from eight to ten pounds, and 
after the first year's payment the student has the 
right to attend all subsequent lectures in the same 
subject without further payment. A considerable 
reduction is offered to those who wish to attend 
only a limited course of lectures. 

Besides the technical branches of the Li^ge and 
Ghent Universities, there are some special schools 
for practical training that enjoy almost as high 
a reputation as they do, and that have the power 
of granting diplomas, which are highly prized. 
Among these may be named the School of Mines 
at Mons and the Institute of Commerce at Ant- 
werp. The period of instruction in the Mons 
school covers four years, and the only fee is 
an entrance one of less than five pounds. The 
Commercial Institute, controlled by the Antwerp 
Corporation, is an admirable training-college for 
clerks, correspondents, and business managers. 
The most promising pupils are given a special 
grant to spend twelve months in England, France, 
Germany, or America, to study the commercial 
methods of those countries. It is not exaggerat- 
ing to say that Belgian merchants have thus a 



1 62 . Belgian Life 

supply of trained clerks at their disposal, while 
those of England have had to take their employes 
untrained, and do the best they can with them 
after engagement. There are minor technical 
schools on most branches of industry scattered 
throughout the country, but those of the greatest 
importance have been mentioned. 

With the view of retaining some hold on those 
who enter the workshop, the Catholics have or- 
ganised schools for apprentices, called St. Luke's 
Schools, in many of the towns, and especially in 
Flanders. No fees are required in these schools, 
which are very popular. Female education is not 
so advanced, but the courses of medicine and law 
have been thrown open to women. The school 
of technical instruction for women in Brussels has 
done excellent work during the last thirty years. 
It undertakes to instruct a woman in any trade, 
from lace-making to cooking and the management 
of the house. Several similar schools have been 
established throughout Belgium; but the Brussels 
school is acknowledged to take the lead. In the 
province of Hainaut there are special schools of 
household management, which originated in a 
private experiment by the Prince de Chimay. 

Taking a broad and comprehensive view of the 
state of education in Belgium, the following gen- 
eral conclusions seem safe. With regard to the 
masses, more especially in agricultural Flanders 
and in the mining district of Hainaut, primary 
education produces few and fleeting results. Little 



Education and Religious Aspects 163 

is learned, and that little is soon forgotten. There 
is a general illiteracy that provides statistics which 
seem to condemn the educational system of Bel- 
gium in toto. If we pursue our investigations a 
little further, this condemnation will be qualified 
by the discovery that the middle schools are doing 
good work, and that if they were completely taken 
out of the hands of the communal authorities they 
would probably do better. Then w^e come to the 
Athinees Royatix, where a classical education is 
obtainable on very easy terms; but they are lan- 
guishing institutions, because nobody in Belgium 
seems to want a classical education except persons 
in the wealthier classes, who send their sons to a 
special school like the Jesuits' College at Brussels 
already referred to. Even there classical instruc- 
tion is confined to the chosen few, and can be 
combined with what is called the modern course. 
Finally, there are the technical schools and col- 
leges which equip a large section of the commun- 
ity for the battle of life. These are admirable in 
design and efficient in organisation. Until com- 
paratively recently England had nothing like 
them, and even now it is doubtful if her corre- 
sponding institutions produce as good results. 
Clearly it will not do to say off-hand, as some do, 
that education is backward in Belgium, and that 
illiteracy and drink go together. There is a large 
section of the nation that may be termed neglected 
and backward. But another section enjoys very 
fair opportunities of becoming educated, while the 



164 Belgian Life 

technical schools are not to be equalled out of 
Germany, and some of them are not to be sur- 
passed there. The following figures will give the 
reader some means of making a comparison for 
himself. In 1902, there were 205,000 children 
under six at infants' schools, 786,000 at primary- 
schools, and only 23,000 altogether at colleges, 
AthinSes^ and ^coles moyennes. 

An account of education in Belgium would be 
incomplete without some reference to the numer- 
ous scholastic establishments where non-Belgians, 
mostly English, are received as pupils. The pro- 
portion between English and Belgian scholars 
varies, in some the majority are of one country, 
in others the numbers will be about equal. But 
the schools in which the English system and 
model are aimed at are confined to Brussels and 
Bruges, and this observation applies exclusively 
to those for young ladies. There have always 
been a few resident English tutors who take a 
limited number of pupils, but these exceptions 
apart, English boys if they go to school in Bel- 
gium must go to a Belgian school like any native 
subject. It is difierent in the case of girls. There 
are at least ten excellent young ladies' schools in 
Brussels in which the foreign element is quite as 
important as the Belgian, and there is certainly 
one which is exclusively English and American. 
On the whole, the instruction imparted in these 
schools is as good as can be obtained in England, 
and for those willing to learn there are great 



Education and Religious Aspects 165 

facilities for improving their French — especially 
in the mixed schools. At some of the strictly 
Belgian schools day boarders are received, and 
with genuine catholicity difference of creed is 
overlooked. The fees in these instances are very 
reasonable, and the cost of the quasi-English es- 
tablishment is about the same as in England. 

The subject of religion is intimately associated 
with that of education in Belgium. All rehgions 
are allowed, but the State religion is that of the 
Church of Rome, and it is stipulated in the con- 
stitution that the Sovereign must belong to it. 
This clause had to be waived in the case of lyco- 
pold I., who, while he married a Roman Catholic, 
and allowed his children to be brought up in that 
faith, stoutly declined to change his own. There 
are resident in the country about ten thousand 
Protestants, chiefly English and members of the 
Reformed French Church. The Belgians are 
Catholics, and where they are not fervent be- 
lievers it is simply because they are generally 
sceptical, and not because they lean towards any 
other creed. The field-preachers, who produced 
a great impression in Flanders in the sixteenth 
century, would fare badly if they reappeared on 
the same scene to-day. The head of the Church 
is the Archbishop of Malines, who happens at the 
present time to be a cardinal as well. This pre- 
late is Cardinal Goossens, whose influence and 
power throughout Flanders are exceedingly great. 
He is described by those who know him as a man 



1 66 Belgian Life 

of great talent and rq^olution. He does not ob- 
trude himself on public notice, but works behind 
the scenes. There is a popular sajang to the effect 
that ** the King is powerful, but Dr. Goossens is 
more powerful. ' ' His admirers have thought that 
he might be Pope one day or other; but the Ro- 
man Curia loves not the determined and tenacious 
Fleming. Under the Archbishop are the five 
Bishops of I/iege, Ghent, Bruges, Tournai, and 
Namur. There is a salary from the State to each 
of these Church functionaries, that of the Arch- 
bishop being over ^800 a year, and of the 
bishops over ^600 a year apiece. Each bish- 
opric is divided into communes, to each of which 
a curi is appointed. He receives not more than 
£^2 a year and a house. The cur^ may be 
considered the rector of the parish, and in anj^ 
commune of importance he is allowed the assist- 
ance of one or two vicaires, who fill the position 
analogous to a curate. The vicaire rarely receives 
a higher salary than ^30 a year, but he has 
rooms in the curi's house, to which a good veget- 
able garden is generally attached. A certain por- 
tion of the Church offerings is set apart for the 
maintenance of the priests. Each bishop main- 
tains a considerable staff in his seminary, and the 
members are qualified in some form or other to re- 
ceive a State salary, which is passed into a com- 
mon fund. There is another functionary who 
deserves to be mentioned, although he is nomi- 
nally an outsider. This is the Papal Nuncio, 



Education and Religious Aspects 167 

who, although really an ambassador, cannot 
sometimes forget that he is a cleric and interferes 
with the Belgian bishops. In this he generally 
•:omes off second-best, as these bishops will not 
permit any outside interference with themselves 
or their flock. 

The power of the clergy is very great in Bel- 
gium, and in some parts they are omnipotent. 
This influence is largely increased by the know- 
ledge that if the cures have but small salaries the 
Church is rich. Religious orders have always 
flourished in Belgium. In the eighteenth century 
they held two thirds of the cleared land, and al- 
though they suffered during the French Revolu- 
tion, they suffered less than might have been 
expected. The establishment of the modern king- 
dom of Belgium restored their chances, and they 
took the fullest advantage of them. In 1846, 
there were 779 religious houses with only 11,989 
inmates, but in 1866 the totals had risen to 13 14 
houses and 18,162 members. In 1890, the latest 
year for which statistics are available, the num- 
bers were 1643 houses and 30,000 inmates. Some 
idea of the value of the Church possessions may 
be gathered from the fact that the raovabfe prop- 
erty of the religious bodies in Liege alone has 
been valued at one million sterling. It would not 
be an exaggeration to value the total possessions 
of the Church in Belgium at fifty millions sterling. 
These resources needed no supplement from the 
State to make it the most powerful organisation 



1 68 Belgian Life 

and the best equipped for offensive political 
operations in the country. 

It is impossible not to admire the skill and per- 
sistency with which the Roman Church has fought 
and won a stubborn fight in Belgium. At one 
time it seemed as if its influence had become a 
thing of the past. Thirty years ago, or even less, 
it was consigned to a back seat in politics, and in 
the control of education its wish counted for little. 
The lyiberals were in power and had long been in 
power. They gave, or intended to give, the con- 
trol of primary education to the State; and, once 
the Church lost its hold on the infant mind, any- 
thing and everything became possible. Then the 
Clericals stirred themselves to action. They re- 
covered the control of education by having it 
vested in the commune. They appealed to the 
religious fervour and devotion of the unlettered 
Flemings; and the Clerical party was returned to 
power in 1884, with an overwhelming majority 
that has kept it there ever since. By systematic 
organisation, the Church has retained its hold on 
the popular mind in a remarkable manner, con- 
sidering the extent to which Socialism and scep- 
ticism prevail among the industrial classes. The 
main principle upon which it has acted has been to 
acquire a dominant influence over the youthful 
mind, and to retain it by keeping up a direct in- 
terest in and practical control over the individual 
during his worldly career. There are in Brussels 
five thousand waiters and messengers who are on 



Education and Religious Aspects 169 

the list of the Catholic League, and there are 
nearly as many girls in domestic service and 
shops included in the same League. 

Many Roman Catholics in Belgium think it a 
misfortune and a direct injury to their religion, 
that the names CathoHc and Clerical have been 
given to what is strictly the Conservative party 
in the State. The Church thus incurs odium in 
matters about which it feels very little concern. 
This way of looking at the matter is not quite as 
true as it appears. The policy of Rome sees far, 
and knows well the danger of eliminating any 
matter of human interest from its programme, as 
not being of a nature to effect its position at some 
future time. Thus, for instance, it would seem at 
first sight that the Catholics as a religious body 
could have no possible motive for opposing the in- 
troduction of a bill abolishing the privilege of pre- 
emption in the Army. Yet they are opposed to it 
because they believe that the compulsory and 
uniform enforcement of conscription will weaken 
their influence and increase the amount of irre- 
ligion. It cannot be denied, however, that the 
Church of Rome has, by descending into the 
political arena, incurred much odium which, if it 
had kept to its own sphere, would have been 
avoided. On the other hand, the undoubted good 
work performed by the parish priests, and by 
many of the religious institutions, must not be 
overlooked or disparaged. The advice of Mon- 
sieur le Cure is generally sought for in every 



I70 Belgian Life 

difl&culty throughout the communes of Belgium, 
and, as a rule, it is given disinterestedly. Now 
and then there is a scandal in which some young 
vicaire is concerned ; but considering the enforced 
celibacy of the clergy, these cases are remarkably 
rare. The monks and nuns of the various orders 
give themselves up to some special task. Much 
of the hospital work in the country is done by the 
latter. And they not merely do the nursing work 
in the hospitals, but they have hospitals of their 
own for imbeciles and for the deaf and dumb. 
Just as the Jesuits have a high-class school in 
Brussels for youths, so have the Ursulines one for 
young ladies at St. Hubert. The Trappists make 
beer and cheese, and are also excellent farmers. 
The Carmelites maj^ provide nothing of practical 
utility, but their music and singing are superb, 
and add much to the enjoyment of their congrega- 
tions. Apart from politics, the representatives of 
the Roman Church are doing in all parts of Bel- 
gium good work which has earned the gratitude 
of those who benefit by it, or come under its 
influence. 




CHAPTER XII 



LAW AND JUSTICE 



AT the same time that the Provisional Govern- 
ment was drawing up a Constitution for the 
country in 1830-31, it was also charged with the 
task of preparing a code of laws and justice. 
This was to be based on the old laws of the nine 
provinces, adapted to modern requirements and 
leavened by the Code Napoleon. The Codes 
Beiges, which took several years to compile, fill a 
large volume, and the Belgians believe that they 
possess in them a model collection of laws. They 
are not, perhaps, so well satisfied with the manner 
of dispensing them, and especially with the ex- 
tent to which litigation may be protracted. The 
law, they say, is slow and costly, especially in 
commercial matters and questions of inheritance, 
which furnish the bulk of the cases carried to the 
Court of Appeal. This objection is heard in other 
countries besides Belgium, and does not reflect on 
the justice of the laws in any special degree. 

As the decisions in all cases have to be in con- 
formity with the statute law, they are examined 
by a revising court called the Cour de Cassation. 
171 



172 Belgian Life 

This court works automatically, as it were, for no 
action on the part of either plaintiff or defendant 
is needed to set it in operation. It examines 
every judgment, and when it finds that it is not 
in harmony with the written law, it simply an- 
nuls it. The Cour de Cassation never tries cases 
itself, except when a Minister of State is the ac- 
cused. The Cour de Cassation is the highest court 
of the realm, and has only one j udge. He is as- 
sisted by a considerable staff of revisers, but he 
gives his decisions alone. These are only heard 
of when a judgment or sentence is reversed, as in 
the majority of cases ratification follows as a 
matter of course. 

Next to the Cour de Cassation come the Courts 
of Appeal, of which there are three. One sits at 
Brussels, another at Ghent, and a third at I^iege. 
Bach of these courts has several judges, and at 
Brussels there are four separate chambers, or 
tribunals, for the Court of Appeal. The judges 
are appointed by the King for life; but a list of 
eligible persons, who, of course, are barristers or 
avocats, is first prepared by the Senate and the 
members of the courts in which a vacancy has oc- 
curred. There is no regular retiring scale or rule, 
but if a judge is incapacitated by age from dis- 
charging his duties, he is allowed to retire and 
still receive his full salary, which ranges from 
;^8oo to ^1200 a year. There is one characteris- 
tic that the whole of the judicial and ofiicial' 
classes in Belgium have in common. They re- 



Law and Justice 173 

main at their posts until they actually break 
down. There are more octogenarians in the Bel- 
gian public service than in any other country of 
Europe. In Belgium, a judge is appointed for 
life, and in theory he cannot be removed from his 
post; at least the King who appoints him cannot 
remove him, though if he does anything discredit- 
able, his brother judges can pass a vote, which 
must be unanimous, to the effect that he is no 
longer worthy to sit among them, and he is then 
removed. 

Below the Courts of Appeal are the Courts of 
First Instance, in which all civil processes have 
to commence. There are twenty-six of these 
courts, which may be found in all the principal 
towns. They are supplemented by tribunals of 
commerce, before which commercial disputes are 
first argued; but these exist only in Antwerp, 
Ghent, I/iege, and a few other places where such 
cases are likely to be numerous. The lowest 
court of all is that of the yuge de Paix, which 
combines the functions of English County and also 
Police Courts. All local disputes are brought 
before the yuge de Paix^ whose sentence in the 
majority of offences against the law takes the 
form of a small fine. Where the offence is deemed 
grave, the prisoner is committed to the Assizes. 
There are two hundred and twenty-two yuge de 
Paix Courts in the country. 

Criminal cases are supposed to be tried before 
the Courts of Assizes, and these vary in number 



174 Belgian Life 

with the amount of crime in the calendar. In 1898, 
there were eighty-nine Assize Courts, before 
which as many as 42,732 persons were arraigned. 
The bulk of these cases could not have been very 
serious, as throughout the year there were never 
at any time more than four thousand prisoners in 
the gaols. All criminal cases, including those of 
treason and offences under the Press laws, have 
to be tried before a jury, which, as in England, is 
composed of twelve citizens. The jury system 
represents one of the oldest of Belgian privileges, 
having been ceded to the people as long ago as 
the Grammont Constitution in the year 1068. 

The punishments imposed by the criminal courts 
are far lighter than in England, and although 
capital punishment remains on the penal code, it 
is never inflicted. The condemned prisoner is 
sentenced in form to death, and he is removed to 
the solitary cells in the prison of Lou vain, where 
he passes the remainder of his days in silence. 
Those who have had experience in Belgium of the 
perpetual silence system describe the punishment 
as being far more severe and terrible in its con- 
sequences than death. The advocates of the 
retention of capital punishment lay stress on its 
deterrent influence, but it has none in Belgium, 
for although it remains on the statute book, every- 
one knows that it is never inflicted. 

The excessive leniencj^ shown to all accused 
persons in the courts of the Juge de Paix is the 
great defect in the administration of justice in Bel- 



Law and Justice 175 

gium. The dominant idea in these courts which 
sit in the Hotel de Ville is to preserve harmony in 
the commune, and not to create bad blood. A 
stabs B because he is found courting A's young 
woman. The wound is not very serious, and has 
disappeared by the time the case comes on. The 
Juge de Paix reads the culprit a sermon, and fines 
him five francs. In the meantime the friends and 
neighbours have made peace between the com- 
batants, and if all is well, the whole party proceed 
to spend the five francs and more in their favourite 
drink-shop. But sometimes it is not so happily 
adjusted. The assailant may be a ruffian, and 
hastens to signalise his escape by perpetrating a 
worse outrage on his rival or on the girl whose 
preference is the ostensible cause of the affair. A 
worthy Brussels citizen once described a little 
affair to me which aptly illustrates the defects, or 
rather the complete helplessness, of the petty law 
in his country. His servant was washing the 
trottoir in front of the house. A youth, of the 
kind we would call nowadays a Hooligan, came 
along and upset her pail out of sheer mischief. 
The servant remonstrated with him on his con- 
duct, whereupon he struck her with a heavy 
stick across her right arm. The arm was severely 
injured, and incapacitated the servant for work 
during several weeks. On my asking what pun- 
ishment the fellow got, I received the answer, 
** Nothing; but what would you have? I could 
have brought the culprit before the Juge de Paix^ 



176 Belgian Life 



who would have fined him twenty francs, and all 
his relations and friends would have set themselves 
to work to do me an injury for inflicting that loss 
on them. Truly, our police have not enough 
power." This was the complaint of a prosperous 
inhabitant of Brussels. 

As a general observation, it may be said that 
the Belgian police devote all their time to watch- 
ing the criminal classes, the men and women who 
have undergone a term of imprisonment, and that 
it does not come within their conception of duty 
to attempt to regulate the affairs of ordinary citi- 
zens. For this reason a good deal of latitude is 
left to the citizen in respect of self-defence, as, for 
instance, against housebreakers. It is perfectly 
legitimate for a householder to fire upon and kill 
any one breaking into his house, although he 
may be in the full security of an upper story, and 
the burglar be only testing the door-latch. With 
the exception of such extreme cases as this, the 
law of Belgium for petty offences is based on the 
theory that lenience is the wisest course, and pro- 
vides the best way of preventing recruits from 
joining the criminal classes. 

Any English family contemplating taking up 
its residence in Belgium for a time should care- 
fully study the law of tenancy before committing 
itself for a definite term, for the law is very strict 
on the point that if the tenant has a grievance 
against the landlord he must discharge his liability 
under the contract — that is, pay for the whole 



Law and Justice i77 

term — before he can get a hearing. In the case 
of a foreign tenant, too, who has no immovable 
property in the country, the landlord has very ex- 
tensive powers of summary seizure for the pur- 
pose of securing himself against possible loss. It 
has been said that an English plaintiff has no 
chance of redress in a Belgian court. I have no 
reason to think this statement to be true, but it 
is certain that ignorance of the law in Belgium 
very often disqualifies a plaintiff without even a 
hearing. 

Belgian lawyers boast that the distinctive merit 
of their courts is that the sentences given forth in 
them cannot differ from the intention and pro- 
vision of the law. If they do differ they are re- 
versed, and the penalties fall to the ground. There 
is no inequality of sentence, because everything is 
done according to prescription, and the greatest 
pains are taken by dispassionate persons in con- 
trolling the record. The Cour de Cassation is 
swayed neither by the rhetoric of the advocate nor 
by sympathy with the accused. That is one side 
of the picture, but there is another. By the law of 
Belgium a man is tried for what he is accused 
of, and this is carried out with rigid consistency. 
If he is found not guilty of that particular and 
precise crime he is acquitted. In many cases the 
issue is simple and direct; the accused has done 
a thing or he has not done it. But there are 
many matters in which the deed cannot be dis- 
puted, but there is an opening for difference of 



178 Belgian Life 

opinion as to the degree of culpability. For in- 
stance, a man is killed, but the killer may commit 
murder, or manslaughter, or merely homicide. In 
Belgium, it is necessary to be very specific in the 
counts of a charge, or an undoubtedly guilty per- 
son will escape scot free. 

Stronger evidence could not be advanced in 
proof of this than information candidly placed at 
my disposal by a very clever Belgian lawyer and 
publicist with reference to the notorious Stokes 
case. Stokes was the merchant-missionary shot 
or hung by the Capitaine-Commandant I^othaire in 
Congoland. This oflficer was brought by the re- 
presentations of the British Legation at Brussels to 
trial, and the indictment quite simply laid to his 
charge the crime of murder alone. The Legation 
no doubt took counsel with some Belgian advisers 
in the framing of the indictment; but intentionally 
or otherwise it was faulty, for all minor counts 
were omitted. As my Belgian informant — I be- 
lieve he was one of the counsel on the English 
side — told me with a pleasant smile, ' ' Of course 
the court had no difficulty in acquitting Lothaire, 
for whatever his offense it was not murder. ' ' The 
result of the Sipido case was due to a somewhat 
similar miscarriage on a technical point. 

The Belgian bar is recruited from the students 
of law at the different universities. They attend 
the lectures of the legal course, and having re- 
ceived their diplomas as doctors in law are quali- 
fied on the payment of moderate fees to practise in 



Law and Justice 179 

the courts. They do not appear in the cases be- 
fore the Juge de Paix, I believe there is no 
reason why they should not, but it almost seems 
as if they thought it beneath their dignity to do 
so. Nor do they appear often in the Assize 
Courts, unless it is a cause ceUbre. In these cases 
there is very rarely much, if any, money thrown 
away on the defence. The accused knows fairly 
well what to expect, and accepts it with a certain 
philosophy. The presence of a becapped avocat 
from Brussels will not materially reduce the sen- 
tence, but it will the savings of the culprit's 
family. 

The Belgian lawyers work almost exclusively in 
the Courts of Appeal, the Tribunals of Commerce, 
and in private litigation. The fees paid them are 
on a moderate scale, but occasionally, in an im- 
portant case, a leader in the Appeal Court will 
receive a daily fee of a hundred pounds. A suc- 
cessful barrister regards his service as an avocat 
either as the probationary period for a judgeship, 
or as the source from which he derives the income 
that enables him to be a politician. For instance, 
M. Beernaert, who has been Prime Minister and 
also President of the Chamber, is still a practising 
barrister in the Brussels Court of Appeal, and per- 
haps it is not going too far to call him the leading 
lawyer as well as politician of his country. So- 
liticitors do not fill the same position of im- 
portance that they do in England. One of the 
explanations is that a considerable portion of their 



i8o Belgian Life 

duties is performed by the notaire, an important 
personage in Belgian life, of whom something 
must be said presently. The solicitor, or avouS, 
has studied law like the avocat in the University, 
and taken his diploma. But his work consists in 
giving a legal form to documents, preparing wills, 
etc. He does not instruct the avocats in the same 
way that English solicitors draw up the case for 
barristers, and it is permissible for the client 
to treat direct with his counsel. His principal 
work lies in the conduct of litigation Outside the 
courts, and in instructing the huissiers (sheriff's 
officers) in the collection of debts. The avouSs 
are not a numerous body, and they are also to be 
found only in the principal towns. Throughout 
Belgium there are probably not altogether a hun- 
dred practising avouSs. 

The notaire, or notary, has no legal training or 
position, but he discharges all the business side of 
a solicitor's profession in England. All sales and 
transfer of house property and land have to be 
executed before him in order to possess validity. 
He is a commissioner of oaths, and in the pro- 
vinces, at least, he is the custodian of family papers 
and documents. He is also consulted in all mat- 
ters of business, and no Belgian would think of 
purchasing a property before he had taken the ad- 
vice of his notary. A good deal of banking busi- 
ness passes through his hands, for he often takes 
charge of the money of his clients, and makes 
them advances as required. In country towns he 



Law and Justice i8i 

is the most important man in the place, for not 
only does he know everybody, but he holds in his 
hands the information which enables him to judge 
of the financial position of every one in the town 
and the surrounding district. Far more than the 
parish-priest is he the keeper of the public con- 
science. As notaries are paid a definite fee or a 
commission on the amount of money that passes 
through their hands on the sale or purchase of 
property, they generally are able to save a con- 
siderable sum of money during their lifetime. 
They have also opportunities of purchasing land 
or houses on favourable terms. Their daughters 
are thus often the possessors of a tempting dot, 
which enables them to marry an officer in the 
army or a member of the petite noblesse. As a 
body the notaires are an honourable class, and this 
explains the great confidence reposed in them. 
But of course there are exceptions, and since 
speculation on the Bourse has increased of late 
years, paragraphs in the newspapers are some- 
times seen announcing the failure and flight of a 
notaire. The principal interest from the general 
point of view of such an incident is that there is 
then revealed the magnitude of the sums entrusted 
to the custody of the notaires. Some years ago 
there was a rather notorious case in one of the 
southern towns, when a notaire made away with 
over a million francs of his clients' money. 

All criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the 
Procureur du Roi. He differs from the English 



1 82 Belgian Life 

Public Prosecutor in this respect, that he conducts 
the prosecution himself in court. A certain num- 
ber of barristers are salaried by the State for this 
purpose, but when many cases are in progress 
any barrister may be retained to act as Procureur 
du Rou 

There are maisons d'arrH in all the small towns 
or Assize districts, and in the large towns there is 
a maison de s^retS. Prisoners are kept in these 
pending trial. At Brussels there are three of the 
latter— one for women, formerly in the Rue Petits 
Carmes, occupying the site of the Hotel Culem- 
bourg, but now in the Ancien H6pital Militaire, 
in the Rue des Minimes, and two for men. Of the 
latter, one is an old building in the Rue des Mini- 
mes on the side of the hill on the top of which 
Brussels stands, and the other is a new and ex- 
tensive building at St. Gilles flanking the Chaus- 
see de Charleroi. A new prison to take the place 
of the one in the Minimes is being built at Forest. 
The two chief prisons of Belgium for prisoners 
after sentence is passed are situated at lyouvaiu 
and Ghent. At Ghent, there is also a reformatory 
for youths. It was here that Sipido was incar- 
cerated after he was brought back from France. 
Belgian prisons are under the control of the Min- 
ister of Justice, who selects suitable candidates for 
the posts of the Governors and Deputy-Governors, 
who are appointed by the King. They have the 
reputation of being well managed, and, although 
released prisoners have not yet contracted the bad 



Law and Justice 183 

habit of publishing the record of their infamy and 
its punishment, the general impression is that 
Belgian prisoners do not suffer great hardships in 
prison. 

The complaint made by the Brussels house- 
holder as to their not being a sufficient number of 
police is not surprising, considering that the total 
police force of Brussels does not exceed five hun- 
dred men, and many of these are employed in the 
administration and are never seen in the streets 
at all. In accordance with the population, this 
force, as compared with that in I^ondon, is only 
one- third of what it ought to be. Some increase 
has been made of late, including a body of bicy- 
clists, but the total is still inadequate for a great 
city covering so large an extent of ground as 
Brussels. The police are armed with a short 
sabre, and since the Socialist disturbances of 1899 
they have carried a revolver. There is a danger- 
ous criminal class in Brussels which congregates 
chiefly in the Rue Haute, a sort of Seven Dials, 
and the suburb of Schaerbeck. The greater por- 
tion of the offences in which violence plays a part 
are committed by professional criminals. The 
bulk of the citizens are extremely well behaved 
and give no trouble to the police. One explan- 
ation of the ease with which the population is 
managed lies in the system of compulsory regis- 
tration at the police-office, thus the authorities can 
put their hands at once on any member of the 
community, or at least ascertain that he or she 



1 84 Belgian Life 

has quitted the fixed address. Servants are com- 
pelled to notify their changes of situation, all of 
which are recorded in a little book which they 
submit to the examination and control of the 
police. The inspection of the livret of any serv- 
ant is sufficient to reveal her personal history. 

It is the fashion in England to sneer at the 
Brussels policeman, and he is generally repre- 
sented as a very puny fellow, devoid of physical 
strength and courage. He used to be a favourite 
butt of Punch. As is often the case, the facts are 
not as they are popularly represented to be, al- 
though it may be admitted that during the last 
ten years considerable attention has been paid to 
the reorganisation of the force and to the physique 
of the men composing it. It is consequently im- 
proved from what it was. Taking the corps as a 
body, they are a set of self-respecting men, who 
are held in respect by the community. As a force 
they are popular, which shows that they do not 
abuse their authority. Some of the misconception 
that has arisen in the British mind about them is 
due to the fact that it is not part of the duty of a 
Brussels agent de police to give information to the 
tourist and traveller, and consequently when ac- 
costed in a matter-of-course sort of a way, as if he 
was a mere official intended to wait on strangers, 
he used no doubt to give very often a brusque an- 
swer, or no answer at all. On the other hand, if 
approached in a proper manner, with the custom- 
ary slight elevation of one's hat, he will salute in 



Law and Justice 



185 



return and give all the information at his disposal 
as cheerfully as do the excellent English con- 
stables. The newspapers contain every day one 
or more instances of exceptional courage and de- 
votion to duty on the part of agents de police. 




""^^ 



1 A «T — « i y jfeas^iek^ ^ > A » M 1 



CHAPTER XIII 

IN TRUK WAI,I,ONIA 

ALTHOUGH the original home and birthplace 
of the Walloon race cannot be found and 
specified with the same precision as in the case 
of the Flemings, there is no question that Liege 
may be called its central point. On the south it 
may be considered to be bordered by the H antes 
Fagnes ; westwards it extends to the borders of 
Brabant, its eastern limit is Aix-la-Chapelle, which 
is historically a Walloon city, and on the north 
it touches the modern province and old Duchy 
of Limburg. Except the portion which has been 
German for centuries, and which has in Montjoie 
the most typical of all Walloon towns, the pro- 
vince of Liege represents the true home of the 
Walloons. The origin of the name Walloon ap- 
pears to be the German word welck, cultured or 
civilised. We may take it that this title was 
given to the settlers in the productive and attract- 
ive Meuse valley by the other tribes of Austrasia 
long before Liege had come into existence, and at 
a time when Tongres, Herstal, Landen, and Aix- 
la-Chapelle were the important towns of the Wal- 
186 



In True Wallonia 187 

loon country. Herstal sprang into fame because 
the Merovingian kings established there a hunting 
residence. These places became more famous as 
the cradle of the succeeding dynasty of the Carlo- 
vingians, or Carolovingians. I^anden was the 
birthplace of the first Pepin who is distinguished 
by its name, Herstal gave birth to the second, 
and the third Pepin or the Short was born at 
Jupille, on the opposite bank of the Meuse to 
Herstal, and supposed to have been another villa 
for the chase in the forest that covered the greater 
part of this region. Many places dispute the 
honour of having given birth to his son and suc- 
cessor, Charlemagne, but the claims of Herstal or 
Jupille are probably better than those of any of 
the others. At the same time it may be noted 
that volumes have been filled with learned theories 
on the subject without any absolutely certain re- 
sult, for none is possible. The citizen of Herstal 
is just as proud and confident of the fact as his 
neighbour of Jupille across the river, and both are 
now small places, mere suburbs of lyiege. On the 
other hand, Aix-la-Chapelle, which claimed the 
honour of being the birthplace of the greatest his- 
torical figure between Caesar and Napoleon, was 
undoubtedly his favourite residence and holds his 
tomb. 

The character of this region differs considerably 
from the other provinces of Belgium. It is more 
rugged than any part of the Ardennes, stands 
on a higher elevation, and although the growth 



1 88 Belgian Life 

of population has been followed by the general 
clearing of the woods, a visit to the Hautes 
Fagnes or the forest of Hertogenwald, will convey 
some idea of what it must have been like in the 
days of the famous Mayors of the Palace. The 
valley of the Vesdre, despite the presence of nu- 
merous factories and villa residences, presents a 
savage aspect that is not to be found in any other 
part of the country. The little stream forces its 
way between dark and overhanging rocks, and the 
railway from Liege into Prussia passes through 
twenty-five tunnels in as many miles. Through- 
out this region the oak used to abound, and in the 
beautiful woods on the summit of the range be- 
hind Chaudfontaine the king of trees can still be 
found in great numbers. There is also an exten- 
sive oak forest round the chateau of Argenteau 
near Herstal. 

The chateau of Argenteau, beautifully situated, 
is the seat of the Counts Mercy-Argenteau, the 
most famous of whom was the Ambassador sent 
by the Empress Maria Theresa to Paris in the 
time of Queen Marie Antoinette, and whose me- 
moirs throw so much light on the period. Not 
far from it commence the limits of the hitherto 
neutral district of Moresnet, which, owing to the 
inability of Prussia and the Netherlands to come 
to an agreement about the frontier in 1815, was 
left autonomous. Moresnet consists chiefly of a 
mountain that contains large and valuable zinc 
deposits. It is about three miles in length, and a 



In True Wallonia 189 

mile and a half broad. A little time ago some stir 
was made by a rumour that a project had been 
formed for opening there the gambling-tables that 
the Belgian Parliament had caused to be closed at 
Spa and Ostend, and now it is stated that Mores- 
net is about to lose its distinctive character, Prus- 
sia and Belgium having come to an agreement to 
divide it between them. 

The Hautes Fagnes, called in German Hohe 
Venn, extend from the Amble ve to the Prussian 
frontier and across it. The popular watering- 
place, Spa, is situated within their limits, and also 
the Baraque Michel, which is the highest mount- 
ain in Belgium, viz., 2080 feet. The exact origin 
of the word Fagnes has not been ascertained, but 
it signifies an uncultivated elevated plateau, cov- 
ered with heath and forest. The name without 
the adjective is applied to a district between the 
Sambre and Meuse near Chimay, but the Fagnes 
generally known as such is the plateau lying 
south-east of I^iege. It forms the highest altitude 
between the basins of the Rhine, Moselle, and 
Meuse. This region is the home of legend and 
folk-lore. The people are intensely superstitious, 
and believe in ' ' the little men ' ' who rule in the 
woods during the night time, and who sometimes 
come into the villages and do the villagers' work 
for them. These genii are called sottais. There are 
numerous customs which show a remote origin. 
One is that of sending the children on the first 
Sunday in Lent to collect wood and brushwood 



iQo Belgian Life 

at all the houses for the purpose of lighting 
bonfires on the hills. Those who refuse become 
very unpopular, and are supposed to make them- 
selves liable to attack the next day by the child- 
ren who employ the burnt sticks for the purpose 
of blackening their faces. In the Vesdre valley 
it is the accepted popular opinion that the souls 
of the departed live in the trees, and on All-Souls- 
Day children are strictly forbidden to cut wood 
for fear of disturbing them. At Verviers itself 
the children go about swinging pots of live 
coals, and begging for centimes for the poor souls. 
The Walloon country is certainly the home of 
folk-lore, and volumes have been written on the 
subject. 

In character, the pure Walloon is the finest and 
most distinctive type in Belgium. Leaving aside 
the degenerates of town life, he is a man of good 
height and fine physique. Indeed, it is not un- 
common to see men of immense burliness, built 
like an ox, as the saying is, who seem a survival 
of the turbulent age of Charles the Bold, Louis 
XI., and the Wild Boar of the Ardennes, so ad- 
mirably portrayed in Scott's Quentin Durward. 
The type is generally dark in both sexes, but it is 
entirely free from the swarthy element, due to the 
Spanish connexion, which is specially marked in 
Brabant and Luxemburg. It will be remembered 
by students of history that Liege quite escaped 
the troubles of the second half of the sixteenth 
century, and remained passive, but independent, 



In True Wallonia 191 

under its Prince - Bishops. Consequently, the 
Spaniards never had anything to do with I^iege 
or its dependent districts. The Walloon is a man 
of very considerable energy, throws himself into 
whatever interests him with equal determination 
and animation, and although somewhat prejudiced 
against any outside interference or innovation, he 
has built up, by hard work and steady persever- 
ance, a great local prosperity. Guicciardini, the 
Italian envoy, much of whose description of the 
Belgian races is true to-day, although he wrote in 
the sixteenth century, said of the people of lyiege : 
' ' The citizens of lyiege are industrious people, 
very ingenious, of much spirit, ready to undertake 
anything. The Walloons are undaunted by any 
kind of work, their ardour communicates itself 
also to their women, who share with them the 
rudest toil." 

In old days the Walloons were noted for their 
turbulence and spirit of independence. In the 
Middle Ages, the Flemish weavers of Ghent were 
considered stiffnecked and quarrelsome, but the 
good people of lyiege were always deemed able to 
go a little further in the way of combativeness 
than any other Belgians. It was Charles the Bold 
who first tamed their haughty spirit, or rather 
made them suffer for it. Perhaps in doing this he 
reduced his own power and resources, and paved 
the way for his own discomfiture at the hands of 
the Swiss. It is unnecessary to tell the story of 
his capture and punishment of the city, but his 



192 Belgian Life 

subsequent expedition against Franchimont is less 
known, and will bear repeating. Franchimont is 
in the Hautes Fagnes, and lies a few miles north 
of Spa, on the road to Pepinster, the castle of 
Pepin as the local authorities say, but with doubt- 
ful truth. It possessed a strong castle, held by a 
marquis, who took his title from the place and 
who controlled the foresters and mountaineers of 
this region. When Charles the Bold and his host- 
age L,ouis XI. sat down before I^iege, a summons 
for aid was sent to all the dependent towns, and 
among others to Franchimont. In its case the 
summons was readily responded to. The chief 
marched with his retainers and the foresters of 
the Hautes Fagnes to the rescue. The night 
surprise which so nearly succeeded, as told in 
the chronicle of Comines and in the pages of 
Quentin Durward, was the deed of the men of 
Franchimont. After the capture of Li^ge, Charles 
marched to Franchimont, destroyed the castle, 
and, having killed many of its inhabitants, re- 
turned with a considerable number of prisoners of 
both sexes, whom he summarily got rid of by 
throwing them off the I^iege bridge into the 
Meuse. 

Such was the end of Franchimont in history, 
but it lives in legend. Scott's lines, in Marmion, 
perpetuate the story: 

Did'st e'er, dear Heber, pass along 
Beneath the towers of Franchimont, 



In True Wallonia 193 

Which like an eagle's nest in air 

Hang o'er the stream and hamlet fair? 

Deep in their vaults, the peasants say, 

A mighty treasure buried lay, 

Amass' d through rapine and through wrong 

By the last Lord of Franch^mont. 

The story goes that the devil in the guise of a 
huntsman keeps watch and ward over an iron 
chest buried below the castle. As excavations 
have been made and nothing found, the tradition 
has no longer even local value. The eminence on 
which the castle stood is of only slight elevation, 
standing above the streamlet called the Hoegne, 
which flows into the Vesdre, and of the ruins 
scarcely anything remains. The hundred years 
since Heber visited the place have wrought a 
great change, and the materials of the old castle 
have been freely used in the construction of the 
modern village of Theux. 

The turbulence of the Walloons was well estab- 
lished, quite apart from the local history of I^iege. 
The great district of Hesbaye — called in mediae- 
val documents Hesbagne — separates the prin- 
cipality from Brabant. It was an early seat of 
Walloon colonisation, and Tongres was their 
capital before I^iege came into existence. The 
Walloon chiefs, who had erected strongholds in 
this country, resented any intrusion into their 
territory, killing and plundering all travellers. 
Hence the saying became common: ''Whoever 

enters the Hesbaye is fought on the morrow.'* 

13 



194 Belgian Life 



Travellers soon gave this district a wide berth, 
and having no one else to fight the Walloon chiefs 
began to fight with one another. In the thir- 
teenth century the first of these wars between 
Walloon Capulets and Montagus broke out be- 
tween the Awans and Waroux, and when that 
feud ceased to supply excitement through the 
deaths of all the principals, a fresh quarrel and 
cause of strife were provided by the Grignoux and 
the Chiroux. They were a brave, reckless people, 
whose legends would make a long story. 

Perhaps the following incident gives as good a 
proof of their fearlessness as any other. The devil 
figures in most of their legends, and in this he 
took on himself the form of a pretty woman, 
w^hom one of the Hesbaye chiefs found weeping 
by a fountain. He took her home to his castle to 
supper. In the morning the devil revealed him- 
self in his true form. The undaunted Walloon 
merely remarked ''When you get back to hell tell 
them that you were never better entertained." 
The characteristics of the mediaeval Walloons 
were preserved by their descendants in the six- 
teenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, 
during which the Walloons fought well in the serv- 
ice of their foreign masters. It was at St. Quen- 
tin in 1557 that the Walloons first obtained the 
recognition of Europe as first-class fighters, and 
the reputation of their infantry as the most effi- 
cient and formidable force on the Continent re- 
mained undisputed for nearly a century. Conde's 



In True Wallonia 195 

victory at Rocroi in 1643 was the first defeat they 
had suffered, and, so far as courage went, they had 
rarely fought better. It is of this period that 
Schiller speaks in his Wallenstein, when he says 
of one of his characters, " Respect him, for he is a 
Walloon." But it is quite a mistake to assume, 
as some do, that the martial records of the Wal- 
loon race end with Rocroi. The Walloon con- 
tingent of the Imperial Army, after the Austrian 
rule was established in the Spanish Netherlands, 
was a corps d'ilite. Belgian officers, and espe- 
cially Walloons, rose to high command in the Im- 
perial Army, from the time of Merode, in the war 
of the Spanish succession, to that of Clairfayt and 
Beaulieu, in the wars with the French RepubHc. 
When France succeeded Austria as the dominant 
power in the South Netherlands, the Walloon 
contingent was transferred to the former by one 
of the clauses of the Treaty of Luneville. The 
Belgians did not preserve all their distinctive regi- 
ments in the French service, but at least the La- 
tour Dragoons continued an old and honourable 
name. In the army of the Empire, Belgian 
troops had a good reputation, and General Thie- 
baut considered them better than French troops. 
After the fall of Napoleon in 18 14, over two thou- 
sand Belgians who had received the Legion of 
Honour returned to their homes. In an earlier 
chapter the opinion has been expressed that the 
success of the Belgian rising in 1830 was mainly 
due to the courage and dash of the Liege 



196 Belgian Life 

volunteers under Charles Rogier, in other words, 
to the co-operation of the Walloons. This active 
participation explains the selection of Liege as the 
scene of the great exhibition to be held in 1905, 
in honour of the seventy -fifty anniversary of the 
declaration of Belgian independence. Certainly 
so far as site is concerned no selection could have 
been better, and the broad and swift-flowing 
Meuse, as it sweeps round Mount Ste. Walburga, 
presents a panorama to which there are few equals 
in Europe. Great efibrts are being made in order 
that the exhibition shall prove a success and 
worthy of the occasion, and thus with a mixture 
of pride and business capacity a national celebra- 
tion will be made to serve a practical purpose in 
giving the already well-known productions of 
Liege factories a still wider reputation. Both 
the King of the Belgians and Prince Albert are 
taking a lively interest in the preparation of the 
exhibition. 

If any one wants to get a favourable impression 
of the Belgian nation, it is to Liege that he should 
go as a place of residence, and from that city visit 
the towns and villages famous in the history of 
the Walloons. The facilities of intercommunica- 
tion are great, the hotels are better, taken as a 
whole, than in any part of Belgium, the air is 
bracing and invigorating, the villages are clean, 
with a complete absence of the fumieres that de- 
tract from the pleasantness of the Ardennes, and 
they contain a healthy and hospitable population. 



In True Wallonia 197 

The English tourist knows Liege and Spa, but 
beyond those places he is never seen in the true 
country of the Walloons. 

Liege, the city founded by the Bishops of Ton- 
gres, who transferred their seat there in the tenth 
century, and of whom the most famous was 
Bishop Notger, — it was said of him that God made 
Notger, but Notger made Liege, — has already 
been treated of as a manufacturing centre. But, 
like Antw^erp, it has another and quite a different 
r61e. Liege is a fortified position of the greatest 
importance, because it stands in the path of any 
army advancing from Germany. Until the year 
1890 its defences were obsolete. They consisted 
merely of the Fort of La Chartreuse, on the right 
bank of the Meuse, and the citadel on the left 
crowning the lofty and imposing Mount Ste. Wal- 
burga. As a protection for the city of Liege, 
these forts were valueless, even before the great 
increase in the range of artillery. It was in 1888 
that after long discussion the Belgian Chamber 
passed the necessary votes for the fortifications of 
the Meuse valley. These consisted of the de- 
fences of Namur and Liege by a circle of detached 
forts, so that not merely the towns themselves 
should be rendered safe against bombardment, but 
that the passage of the Meuse should be rendered 
impossible. Both systems are the same, and were 
carried out on the plans and under the personal 
direction of General Brialmont. The forts are 
forts ct coupole, with guns that are raised and 



198 Belgian Life 

lowered automatically. The cannon in them carry 
their shell for over ten miles. To each fort is at- 
tached a barrack, and the forts, where possible, 
are connected by a military road, and even in 
some instances by a tram-line. I say where pos- 
sible, because the forts are on different sides of 
the river, and at Namur the Sambre intervenes in 
the system as well as the Meuse. Of the two po- 
sitions Liege is infinitely the more important, 
although the theory upon which they were con- 
structed was that Namur would close the Brussels 
road to the French, and Liege that from the Ger- 
man frontier. As Namur does not in any way 
command the Charleroi and Mons roads to Brus- 
sels, it follows that it does not fulfil the r61e as- 
signed to it. It is merely the tete de p07it at the 
important j unction of the Sambre and Meuse. On 
the other hand, Liege does fulfil the r61e imagined 
for it, because it commands all the roads from 
Germany into Belgium. The successful defence 
of Liege would therefore keep Germany off Bel- 
gian territory in the event of war. Liege, as a 
strategical position, is indeed of the first import- 
ance, not merely for the defence of Belgium, but 
on the map of Western Europe having regard to 
its present political conformation. In fact it may 
be doubted if there is a more important fortified 
position in the part of Europe with which Eng- 
land might become concerned than Liege. 

Under these circumstances a brief description of 
the system of defence at Liege will not be out of 



In True Wallonia 199 

place. The outlying forts are twelve in number, 
and stand upon a circumference measuring thirty- 
one miles, and the average distance between them 
is two and one-half miles. The intervening coun- 
try is therefore fully commanded by rifle-fire from 
the adjacent forts. Six of the forts are on the 
right bank of the Meuse, and six are on the left. 
The former are the more important, or at least 
they would be exposed to the first attack. They 
are in their order from north to south — Barchon, 
Evegnee, Fleron, Chaudfontaine, Kmbourg, and 
Boncelles. Of these the forts at Fleron and 
Chaudfontaine are the most exposed to attack, 
and would be the immediate object of any coup de 
main from the side of Germany, as they protect 
the main line of railway from Cologne. Their 
possession would open the door into Belgium, for 
the defence of the other forts of Liege would be 
then practically impossible. Remembering that 
future w^ars are likely to be of sudden commence- 
ment, and that the main object with the opposing 
commanders will be to snatch some material ad- 
vantage within the first few hours after the signal 
is given, it becomes clear that only the inclusion 
of Belgium within the field of warlike operations 
is necessary to make the possession of Liege a 
vital point, on which the result of the first cam- 
paign might depend. The forts on the left bank 
of the river are, taking them in the same order as 
those named, but on the western curve — Pontisse, 
Liers, Lantin, Loncin, Hollogne, and Flemalle. 



200 Belgian Life 

The last named is on the Meuse, some distance 
above Seraing. They complete the defences of 
lyiege, but they would only be called into action 
in the event of a regular investment of the place. 
The value of all forts depends on the adequacy of 
the force defending them, and there is no doubt 
that the regular garrison of Liege is very small. 
At one time these new forts, which cost alto- 
gether, including armament (Namur and Liege), 
four millions of English money, were only ten- 
anted by a sergeant and a corporal's guard. Of 
late years this has been increased to a company, 
but by an extraordinary oversight there was no 
ofl&cers' accommodation, and every evening the 
officers on guard went back to the regimental 
mess in Liege, slept in the town, and only re- 
turned the following morning. For the longer 
part of the twenty-four hours these forts then 
were left without an officer. In 1902, a new ar- 
rangement came into force by which one officer 
has to pass the night in each of the forts or case- 
mates, as they are officially termed. It is curious 
that after sinking so much money in these defences 
the most elementary precautions are neglected in 
providing for their security. 

Enough has been said to show the important 
part that Liege plays in the national defence of 
Belgium. It stands for the Walloon half of the 
country in precisely the same manner that Ant- 
werp does for the Flemish, as the bulwark of its 
security and independence. It is liable to far the 



In True Wallonia 201 

greater danger of the two, because it is the senti- 
nel on an exposed frontier. Moreover, Antwerp 
is a strictly defensive position, whereas the pos- 
sessor of Liege will have in his hands the best 
possible base for offensive measures either east- 
wards or westwards. 




CHAPTER XIV 



AMUSEMENTS AND I.KGKNDS 



SOME one has said that the Belgians work fifty- 
two weeks a year, including Sundays. An 
exception must be made, however, for fete days, 
when all work is discontinued. There is no com- 
pulsory religion by the Constitution, but the f^te 
days are those of the Church — Easter with its 
Carnival, Pentecdte or Whitsuntide, and the As- 
sumption in mid- August. Besides these there are 
the Fetes Nationales, held by order of authority on 
the four days from 23rd to 26th July, and the 
King's fete has been incorporated with them. 
Whitsuntide and the Assumption are really holi- 
days of one day each, and as they occur during 
the summer they are observed by all who can 
afford the expense by making excursions to some 
favoured spot on the Meuse, in the Ardennes, or 
elsewhere. As travelling is cheap, and as clubs 
are formed to share the expenses in common, a 
clerk or an artisan from Antwerp or Liege can 
visit the Han grottoes. La Roche, or the Castle 
of Bouillon for a comparatively small number of 
francs. Special trains commence running at an 
202 



Amusements and Legends 203 

early hour in the morning, and continue bearing 
their human freights to and fro across the little 
kingdom until long past nightfall. The trains 
are packed to repletion, and the holiday-makers 
are exceedingly boisterous. It is an occasion on 
which timid persons and foreign visitors should 
stay at home. 

The other holidays are more especially fete 
days, in the sense that they are celebrated locally, 
and each city and even commune has its own 
special and typical display. Those of Lent, dis- 
tributed at intervals of a fortnight between the 
Little Carnival, Mi-Car^me, and Grand Carnival, 
are very much of the same character throughout 
the country. In Brussels the Carnival enjoys a 
special vogue, on account of its being the capital 
and a pleasure-loving city. Dances are given in 
every petty casino or dancing-hall, while at the 
Opera House a grand masked ball is provided for 
those who can purchase the ten-franc tickets. 
The upper boulevards are crowded with domino- 
wearers, the pleasant avenues are covered with a 
shower of pink and green confetti, but it is in the 
lower town that the battle of the Carnival is 
waged with the greatest animation and vigour. 
A procession of carriages following a prescribed 
route is held during the day, passing through the 
Place de la Monnaie, which is supposed to be the 
place of inspection. Those who take part in it are 
masked for their own protection against the fusil- 
lade of confetti encountered along the route, and 



204 Belgian Life 

especially at the points of blockage which fre- 
quently occur. In the evening the rougher ele- 
ment gains the ascendant, especially in the covered 
galleries, and it is not alv^ays harmless confetti 
alone that is thrown. The police have introduced 
some regulations with the object of controlling the 
disorder and of preventing the crushes, in which 
people have lost their lives or met with serious 
injury, but they have not been very successful. 

The Carnival is, of course, general throughout 
Belgium, but perhaps it is more animated in the 
Walloon provinces than in Flanders. The pret- 
tiest celebration of all used to take place at Spa in 
the lifetime of the late Queen of the Belgians, and 
a small section of Belgian society endeavoured to 
emulate there the gaiety of the Riviera. The 
* ' battle of the flowers ' ' round the Pouhon used 
to be an extremely pretty sight, but now that the 
patronage of the late Queen exists no longer, it is 
to be feared that at least the Carnival attractions 
of Spa will become a thing of the past. 

The Fetes Nationales are made the occasion of 
much jubilation. They signalise the stirring 
events of September, 1830, when the people of 
Brussels rose against the Dutch. One of the most 
touching scenes is the procession to the Place des 
Martyrs of the few survivors of the Belgian Vol- 
unteers, who took part in the rising, where they 
lay wreaths on the monument to their gallant 
comrades. The Burgomaster appears in state 
with the sheriffs, and the Veterans, as they are 



Amusements and Legends 205 

rightly termed, are entertained at a dije^iner. 
Another of the days is marked by a military 
review or march of the garrison past the Royal 
Palace. It is a fair occasion to inspect Belgian 
troops, and if allowance be made for the nature 
of the road, a paved chaussie, with many inequal- 
ities, which 'would throw any troops out of line, 
the inspection will not give rise to unfavourable 
comment. The horses of the Guides are excellent 
for light cavalry, although they may seem a little 
pampered, and not hard enough in condition for 
real active work. The Grenadiers are big fel- 
lows, but the little Carabiniers, who in stature 
might be compared to the Goorkhas, march best 
of all the infantry. The fetes are generally 
brought to a conclusion by a marche des flambeaux 
round the Boulevards at night, and sometimes 
there are fireworks on the island called Robinson 
Crusoe, in the Bois. 

During the summer the principal communes, 
which make up the city of Brussels and its sub- 
urbs, hold their kermesses. The kermesse in Brus- 
sels is now little more than a country fair is in 
England. There are merry-go-rounds, shooting- 
galleries, swings, a small menagerie, perhaps, and 
a theatrical troupe. The music is generally sup- 
plied by the band of the commune, but the most 
noise comes from the mechanical barrel organs, 
which are almost incessantly at work. The old 
allegorical representations, however, which used 
to form the main feature of the kermesse are now 



2o6 Belgian Life 

rare or wholly absent. During the kermesse of 
Brussels itself, the effigies of the Mannekin, and 
of some of the heroes of Brabant history, are 
carried through the main streets of the lower 
town. Everard T'serclaes, who recaptured Brus- 
sels from the Flemings in the fourteenth century, 
is perhaps the popular hero in these processions, 
and his representative comes in for a big ovation. 
The ker77iesse itself is held in the Boulevard de 
Jamar, close to the southern station. Of the other 
kei^messes held in the suburbs nothing in particu- 
lar need be said. Each town has its own particu- 
lar fete, and no useful purpose would be served 
by attempting to give a catalogue of them. It is 
better to select a few which will convey an idea 
of the survival of mediaeval traditions in a coun- 
try that seems in many respects given up to the 
material concerns of modern life. At Mons the 
annual fete occurs on Trinity Sunday, and is 
called the parade of Eumegon, which is the Wal- 
loon for limagon, a snail. The allegory repre- 
sented is none other than the legend preserved in 
so many varjdng forms throughout Christendom 
of St. George and the Dragon. At Mons the hero 
is called Gilles de Chin, and the dragon is repre- 
sented as some indescribable monster, which kept 
a princess a prisoner in the forest near the town. 
The dragon is duly killed on the pretty Grand' 
Place below the old citadel. The great curiosity 
formerly displayed on this occasion, but now 
shown only in a wooden facsimile, was the Mons 



Amusements and Legends 207 

cannon, which is alleged to have been used at 
Crecy, where a contingent from Mons fought on 
the side of the Knglish — the Queen of Edward III. 
being Philippa, Countess of Hainaut. At Hasselt, 
the capital of I^imburg, situated at the opposite 
extremity of Belgium to Mons, the local f^te is 
held on the day of the Assumption, August 15th. 
This is the celebration of Virga Jesse, the patron 
of Hasselt. Hasselt, situated in the midst of a 
forest of nut trees in olden days, derives its name 
from hazelbosch, i.e., hazel-wood. Several routes 
met at Hasselt, and many travellers passed by it. 
An image of the Virgin Mary was attached to a 
large tree near the present town, and travellers de- 
posited offerings there to secure good luck on their 
journey. In course of time a town grew up round 
the shrine, and the inhabitants handed down the 
legend of Virga Jesse. In the fourteenth century it 
became a place of pilgrimage, and a chapel having 
been built for the purpose, the statue was deposited 
therein, and on Assumption Day it was carried in 
procession through the street. In the eighteenth 
century the ceremony was altered from an annual 
affair to one of every seven years. The statue is 
supposed to be very old, and shows the blackness 
of age. A handsome crown, with stones presented 
by one of the Popes, and estimated to have cost 
^300, is placed on the Virgin's head for the pro- 
cession; and among the possessions of the shrine 
is a fine velvet mantle, also covered with jewels, 
and thrown over the statue for the procession. 



2o8 Belgian Life 

Not all the ceremonies of the f^te partake of a 
religious character. There are reminiscences of 
the time when the people of the Hazel Wood were 
heathens, and the distinctive feature of the fete 
is not the bedecked statue, but the streets and 
lanes bordered with fir trees, which temporarily 
convert Hasselt into its original forest. For 
weeks and even months before, all the women and 
children of the place are engaged in collecting the 
required wood from the forest, so that the small- 
est house may have its fir tree planted in front of 
it. Triumphal arches are erected at fixed points, 
and at each of these a halt is made by the proces- 
sion, so that a scene in the legendary history of 
Hasselt may be enacted. Hendrich, the first in- 
habitant of the place, is represented living his 
primitive life in his hut, with his wife, his goats, 
and his pigs. His representative is allowed to 
smoke his pipe, as the good people of Hasselt can- 
not imagine a state of happiness without one. 

Another scene is that of the knight who loses 
his way in the forest, to whom the Virgin makes 
a miraculous appearance, and leads him to the hut 
of Hendrich. There are many other scenes, but 
none rouses the same excitement as the efiigy of 
the giant, who once held the whole forest in 
terror. He is represented as an enormous figure 
covered with armour and seated on the trunk of 
a tree, the whole drawn through the streets on a 
triumphal car. He is called the " lyounge Man," 
or the Big Man, and when he comes out in the 



Amusements and Legends 209 

procession the excitement is even greater than on 
the appearance of the statue with the supposed 
miraculous properties. By a curious arrange- 
ment, the statue contains a reservoir of thick 
pea-soup, which is distributed gratuitously to all 
comers. At the last celebration, in 1898, there 
were thirty thousand visitors, many coming from 
Holland and Germany to see it, and there is no 
reason to believe that the next septennary will 
show any decline in popularity. 

Many of the popular processions partake of the 
character of pilgrimages, such as the anniversary 
at Notre Dame de Montaigu. This shrine was 
founded by the Archduke Albert and the Arch- 
duchess Isabella at the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century, and it was under the patronage of 
the late Queen of the Belgians, who used to drive 
herself from I^aeken in order to be present on the 
occasion. The procession from Rochefort to Foy 
Notre Dame, not far from Dinant, possesses a 
great attraction for the people of the locality, and 
every seven years there is a regular march of a 
large part of the population, in addition to the an- 
nual pilgrimage. The story goes that Foy Notre 
Dame got its reputation, during a severe outbreak 
of plague in the sixteenth century, for the remark- 
able cures effected in the cases of those who paid 
it a pilgrimage. The interest to-day lies in the 
revival of the procession which a Count of Roche- 
fort organised during a time of great trouble from 
the prevalence of the plague. The men who take 



2IO Belgian Life 

part in it are drilled for weeks beforehand by an 
ex-soldier, and all the farmers combine to form a 
cavalcade, in which the chief figure is the Count 
of Rochefort. The old and the children follow in 
carts and vehicles of all kinds. A start is made 
at daybreak on Whit-Monday, and it is late in the 
evening when they get back. On entering the 
town they are received with a salute from an old 
cannon borrowed for the occasion. The last pro- 
cession was in 1899, and the next will be in 1906. 
The pilgrimage to St. Hubert is more of a re- 
ligious undertaking than the semi-popular, semi- 
religious festivities which have been described. 
In the first place, a considerable number of the 
participants are the sick and suffering, and the 
special disease for which a visit to the shrine of 
St. Hubert is supposed to be efficacious is the ter- 
rible one of hydrophobia. Under such circum- 
stances the ideas of amusement and jocularity 
that are so natural to the Belgian mind in other 
revivals become repugnant and impossible. The 
legend of St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, 
is one of the best known. The place where the 
disbelieving officer of the Kmperor Charlemagne 
met the stag with the shining cross between its 
antlers, is marked by a chapel in the forest still 
called I^a Converserie, or the place of conversion. 
He gave his name to the forest as well as to the 
town, and his tomb is still shown in the crypt of 
the church, which has been rebuilt several times 
over it. The existing church was purchased 



Amusements and Legends 211 

for ^1500 by the Bishop of Namur, during the 
French Revolution, and thus saved from destruc- 
tion when the lands dependent on the Abbey 
were sold by auction, and fetched ;^8o,ooo. It 
is said that as many as thirty thousand pilgrims 
proceed every year to St. Hubert on the Saint's 
anniversary. 

Among popular legends none has been better 
preserved than the story of the Four Sons of 
Aymon, and their wonderful horse Bayard. The 
legend relates to the time of Charlemagne, the 
great Kmperor of Western Europe, who had much 
diflSculty in keeping his turbulent vassals in 
order. Among these the most troublesome were 
Duke Aymon and his four sons, Renault, AUard, 
Guichard, and Richard, all men of enormous 
stature and strength, Renault, the biggest, being 
not less than sixteen feet in height, according to 
the story. Aymon had also a brother named 
Buves, of Aigremont. Aigremont lies not far 
from Huy, and still boasts of a fine castle belong- 
ing to Count d' Oultremont, and it was once the 
seat of power of the Wild Boar of the Ardennes. 
Buves refused to take part in Charlemagne's ex- 
pedition against the Saracens, and when the Km- 
peror sent one of his sons to remonstrate with 
him, Buves murdered him. The Kmperor came 
with a large force to punish him, and Buves was 
killed in battle. Then the four sons of Aymon 
swore vengeance and fled to the Ardennes, where 
they built the castle of Montfort stronger than 



212 Belgian Life 

Aigremont had been, and the ruins of whicli may 
still be seen on the Ourthe. They surrounded it 
with three walls, and defied the Kmperor. Ren- 
ault fought on horseback, and his cousin Mangis, 
son of Buves, gave him the magic horse Bayard, 
which could run as fast as the wind, and never 
grow tired. For seven years the sons of Aymon 
held their own, but at last the Kmperor came with 
a mighty force, and captured the castle by force or 
fraud. Among his retinue was Duke Aymon 
himself, whom he obliged to follow him, and may 
have employed to deceive his sons. Be that as it 
may, the Castle of Montfort was taken and de- 
stroyed, and the four sons of Aymon barely made 
their escape by mounting all together on the 
horse Bayard. They are next heard of in Gas- 
cony, where they drove out the Saracens. The 
King of Gascony, named Yon, was not grateful, 
and gave them up to Charlemagne, but they 
fought their way through his forces. Their end 
is shrouded in mystery. Of Renault it is said 
that he became a monk at Cologne, and also that 
while directing some masons in their work he 
was ignominiously thrown by them into the Rhine 
and drowned. He was subsequently canonised, 
and there is a fine monument to him at Dort- 
mund, in Westphalia. 

There are more details in the chronicles as to 
the fate of the horse Bayard. It was at last cap- 
tured by some of the men of Charlemagne, and 
brought before the Kmperor, who addressed it as 



Amusements and Legends 213 

follows: *' You have often upset my plans, and 
now you are in my power you shall upset them 
no more." He then gave orders to tie a heavy 
stone round the horse's neck, and to throw it into 
the Meuse, which was done. But Bayard shook 
off the stone and swam to the other bank of the 
river, and, giving three neighs of triumph, dis- 
appeared into the forest. The legend goes on to 
declare that the horse was really immortal, and 
that he may still be coursing through the Arden- 
nes, although he carefully avoids the sight of 
man. The legend of the sons of Aymon and the 
horse Bayard is to Belgian children what that of 
King Arthur is to English children, but it is only 
at Termonde that there is a representation annu- 
ally on the Grand ' Place of some of the incidents 
in their career. 

In Hainaut there is a curious survival of the 
Middle Ages in the number of archery clubs that 
exist, and in the popularity of the exercise. The 
archers take the pursuit quite seriously. They 
may be seen in considerable numbers on Sundays 
at all the stations between Tournai and Mons, 
proceeding to the butts of their special society. 
The bow used is really a long-bow such as was 
used at Crecy, and is carefully kept in an oil-skin 
or leather case to prevent the string from getting 
damp. A quiver containing the arrows is carried 
at the side or over the back. For festive or cere- 
monious occasions there is a showy uniform, of 
green or other coloured jerkin, a bonnet of the 



214 Belgian Life 

same colour, with a feather, and leather trousers, 
tight fitting below the knee, with buskins. The 
archers of Hainaut enjoy the patronage of the 
authorities, and possess privileges that have a 
very remote origin. The services they used to 
render in return are no longer of any practical 
value, and they represent a mere tradition. 

Of late years a considerable change has been 
passing over the school-life of Belgium, at least 
among the well-to-do classes. More attention is 
paid to outdoor games and sports than formerly. 
Cricket has not become as popular as football 
and hockey, for the reason that the cricket-field 
attached to the school does not exist, while foot- 
ball has to be played on the asphalt or stone yard. 
Some of the football teams from Ghent, Brussels, 
and Antwerp are quite efficient. There are row- 
ing clubs at Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp, and a 
Ghent crew has figured twice at Henle}^, and its 
admirers hope yet that it will carry off the hon- 
ours. Golf has been taken up by the smart set, 
and the wild heaths of the Campine and the dunes 
behind Ostend are admirably adapted for links. 
To the public mind in Belgium, however, golf is 
still an exclusively English amusement, and a few 
years ago nobody would have assumed that a Bel- 
gian could play it, at least in Belgium. The fol- 
lowing little adventure happened to a party of 
Belgian gentlemen who had formed a golf club 
not far from Antwerp. It was in the year 1900, 
when the anti-Knglish feeling on account of the 



Amusements and Legends 215 

Boer War was at its height, that these gentlemen, 
attired in the regulation costume of knicker- 
bockers, etc., were returning from their game, 
when some Flemish boys began shouting, A has 
les Anglais, or rather its equivalent in Flemish. 
The boys were joined by others and soon there 
was a small crowd. Finding the matter going 
too far to be pleasant, the Belgian golf enthusi- 
asts turned round and delivered their pursuers 
an edifying lecture in the best Flemish dialect. 
Whether anything was said reproving them for 
their outbreak against the English I know not, 
but at least they were informed in unmistakable 
terms that some of their fellow-countrymen wore 
knickerbockers and played golf. 

The games of the people are few and simple. In 
a considerable number of the estamiyiets a notice 
appears that there is a billiard table. This will 
be found to be a miniature concern, and, of course, 
without pockets, for the French game. Still more 
frequently the notice will have the attractive word 
Quilles, and a skittle-alley will be found in the 
back garden, or more generally in a passage at 
the side of the house. If there is a really national 
game in Belgium it is skittles. What skittles is 
for indoors, the jeu de bal is for out-of-doors. 
This is played in all the towns in the open squares, 
and even in the streets. It consists in hitting a 
tennis-ball from one player to the other with the 
hand, or more often with a wooden instrument, 
half bat half glove, that fits on the hand. This 



2i6 Belgian Life 

bat is called gant, or glove. The communes in- 
stitute competitions on fete days, and give prizes 
to the most skilful player. In the cafes the men 
play dominoes, more rarely backgammon or bac, 
and still more rarely chess. Greater pleasure is 
probably derived from gossip, while they sit at 
their ease in the cafes sipping \h€\x pecqui or gin. 
On a f^te day a very large number of the holiday- 
makers will spend the whole day passing from one 
cabaret to another, restricting their visits to those 
kept by their friends and perhaps by their rela- 
tions. It would be difficult to compute how many 
glasses they imbibe on these occasions, especially 
as in some parts of the country there is a half 
measure oipecque retailed for a halfpenny. 

Music perhaps affords the greatest amount of 
pleasure to the Belgian mind, and the bands of 
comparatively small places attain a very consid- 
erable degree of proficiency. During the summer 
they perform several evenings a week; but per- 
haps they are heard to the greatest advantage 
when they turn out to attend the funeral of some 
respected resident in the commune. A funeral is 
the spectacle that gives the foreigner the most 
favourable impression of the Belgian people. As 
the procession moves to the church the band leads 
the way, giving forth probably Chopin's Marche 
Funebre, When the music stops, the priest, who 
follows, escorted by at least two acolytes bearing 
the holy ensign, intones the prayers for the dead, 
then come the family mourners, the females veiled 



Amusements and Legends 217 

so as to be invisible, and finally the crowd of 
friends, acquaintances, and even personal stran- 
gers, practically the whole male population of the 
commune or townlet which can possibly be pres- 
ent. When the funeral is that of a young female, 
girls and children, probably her playmates, attend 
as an escort to the coffin, which is always borne 
to the church on men's shoulders. It is a very 
affecting sight, and reveals true kindness of heart 
and sense of fellow-feeling. The Belgian's re- 
spect towards the dead is one of his most cher- 
ished traditions. I^et not the tourist refrain from 
paying his tribute, too, by uncovering as the 
coffin and chief mourners go by. 




CHAPTER XV 



I^ITKRATURK AND SCIKNCK 



IN the chapter relating to the development of 
Flemish political influence, it was shown how 
the movement was preceded by an epoch of re- 
markable literary activity. The names of Con- 
science and I^edeganck are the greatest in the 
Belgian literature of che nineteenth century; but 
towards the dawn of the twentieth there appeared 
two new literary leaders, Maeterlinck and Ver- 
haeren, whose intellect belongs rather to the new 
century than to the old. It is not a little curious 
that it should have been reserved for Flemish 
writers to show that there existed in the French 
language a rugged force and a capacity for ex- 
pressing popular emotions in popular language 
that had not previously been discovered. The 
Douze Chansons of the former and the Jan Snul 
of the latter writer were revelations of linguistic 
power and originality. To these names must be 
added that of Camille Lemonnier, who stands for 
the Walloon world as the two others do for the 
Flemish. His remarkable work, Le Male, has 
recently been crowned as a chef d' ceuvre by French 
218 



Literature and Science 219 

Societies not over lavish in distributing their 
laurels abroad. 

It is as well for the reputation of modern Bel- 
gium that there has been this manifestation of 
literary genius by some of its citizens, for other- 
wise it might be declared that the whole nation was 
absorbed in the pursuit of material prosperity, and 
had lost the secret of intellectual vigour and the 
desire for it. To tell the truth, literature in Bel- 
gium has few rewards. It brings neither great 
fortune nor great fame unless the individual's 
reputation spreads beyond the narrow limits of the 
kingdom and becomes European. The Flemings, 
as a race, are proud of their writers, but now that 
they have taken to writing French, which is only 
understood by one-tenth of the race, their popu- 
larity can never equal that of the author of the 
Leuw van Vlaanderen. At the same time there 
has never been any lack of literary activity in 
Belgium. The number of painstaking searchers 
into the voluminous and intricate historical re- 
cords of the country has been beyond easy compu- 
tation. Their names are to be found, not merely 
on the title-pages of separate works, but as con- 
tributors to the long series of volumes issued by 
historical and literary societies, many of which 
enjoyed only a brief and obscure existence. The 
researches of Gachard, Kervyn van Lettenhove, 
and others have produced results which have led 
to a reconstruction of history. One instance may 
be referred to. Every English reader knows 



2 20 Belgian Life 

Motley's picturesque and belief-compelling port- 
rait of Cardinal Granvelle. Yet new facts and 
documents have been discovered which in skilful 
hands might provide the material for showing 
that after all he was only a reasonable and mod- 
erate stateman. 

The Flemish records at Ghent have not been 
more carefully compiled and annotated than those 
of Liege, and the only difference between them is 
that whereas the former dovetail into, and to a 
great degree actually constitute, the national his- 
tory, the latter possess a purely local importance, 
and seem to lie outside the main course of Belgian 
history. To the generation of record-hunters and 
record-preservers succeeded another of historians, 
who utilised the materials garnered by their in- 
dustry. Even when the cares of oflSce were on 
him, M. Nothomb was still more distinguished as 
a man of letters than as a statesman. In diligence 
and industry it would be difficult to surpass M. 
Theodore Juste, who produced a score of volumes 
upon passages in the history of his country, as 
well as one solid work treating it as a whole from 
the time of Caesar. In popularity M. Nameche 
has displaced M. Juste, and his General History 
has been adopted for the schools. Within the last 
few years M. Pirenne has been engaged upon a 
history that is full of promise, but up to the pres- 
ent he has only reached the Burgundian period. 
Among philosophical works the maxims of the 
late M. Bmile Banning, a public servant of ap- 



Literature and Science 221 

proved merit, would take a high place in any 
literature, while General Brialmont, his friend 
and fellow- worker, who died recently, has en- 
riched military bibliography with many works, 
of which a life of Wellington is perhaps the most 
remarkable. 

There has, therefore, been no lack of writers in 
Belgium since it became independent, and a list 
of Belgian authors and their works would fill a 
good-sized volume. But none the less literature 
does not take the high place in the social life and 
public estimation of the country to which it is en- 
titled. If this is true of serious literature, it is 
still more true of journalism, although journalists 
in Belgium cannot complain, as serious writers 
do, that they lack an audience. The Belgians do 
not read much, but they read newspapers, and as 
the journals are of limited size they read several 
of them in a day. The main defect of journalism 
in Belgium is that it writes to please the passions 
rather than to increase the intelligence and edu- 
cate the opinions of its readers. It fixes upon 
some subject that happens to be prominent — re- 
cent instances are the Dreyfus case and the Boer 
War — and all its comments are subordinated to 
the attempt to foment the passions and prejudices 
of its readers. Every bit of news, true or false, is 
turned to the purpose of demonstrating that the 
people or cause which has had the misfortune to 
incur the displeasure of Belgian journalism is 
wholly in the wrong or completely unworthy. 



222 Belgian Life 

During the South African War many instances 
of this character occurred. One may be given. 
A London telegram was published stating that 
the Argentina revenue showed a deficit, but the 
sub-editor altered it by accident or design to an 
English deficit, and the worthy editor, full of mis- 
taken zeal, at once dashed off a leader full of con- 
fident assertion that proud Albion stood on the 
verge of ruin. The incident is typical of the 
manner in which writers in the Belgian Press are 
carried away b}'- their preconceptions until they 
persuade themselves that the only Temple of 
Truth in Europe is to be found in the Rue des 
Sables, the Brussels Fleet Street. 

There are many political writers who produce 
from time to time pamphlets or treatises dealing 
with the questions of the hour, and this form of 
literature is by no means unpopular or unremu- 
nerative. While English publishers look askance 
at pamphlets, their colleagues in Belgium are 
favourably disposed to them. In the first place, 
the Belgian reader does not care for too solid fare. 
If it is to appeal to him it must be light, compact, 
and, above all things, cheap. In the second 
place, the amount risked by the publisher or the 
author is proportionally small, and this pleases 
his caution. The number of readers who will 
pay a franc for a small treatise is large even in 
Belgium, and the probable sale may be safely 
estimated by a knowledge of how far the views 
contained in the work are in accord with the 



Literature and Science 223 

wishes and prejudices of one or other of the two 
political parties. 

Brussels has always been a favourite home of 
the pamphleteer. In the time of the Austrian rule 
there was quite a deluge of pamphlets as the pre- 
cursor of the Walloon revolt, and Count Kaunitz, 
the Austrian statesman, endeavoured, but in vain, 
to crush the movement by summary measures. 
The period of 1814-15, before the formation of the 
Kingdom of the Netherlands, was also one of 
great activity in pamphleteering, and at that time 
the cry was even raised for a republic, under the 
style of the United States of Belgium. The rising 
of 1830 was preceded b}^ a campaign of ephemeral 
literature now completely forgotten, but which 
gave the keynote to the movement. So at the 
present time pamphlets frequently appear on the 
question of universal suffrage, the condition of 
national defence, including the privilege of pre- 
emption, and the Congo colony. 

Besides the pamphleteer there is an instructor 
of the public called a confej'ender, of whom the 
English do not possess an exact counterpart, for 
the title of lecturer does not convey the same idea. 
Knglish men of science and letters give lectures, 
but that is only done as a mode of drawing atten- 
tion to what they have discovered or intend to de- 
scribe in a book. On the other hand, the lecturer, 
as known in the United States, where lecturing has 
enjoyed a great vogue, does not give a fair idea 
of the Belgian coiiferender, who is always a man 



224 Belgian Life 

of exceptional academic and literary distinction. 
Perhaps the most correct description of this per- 
sonage is to say that he resembles a University 
lecturer, who, in place of confining himself to his 
class or his college, will come into the drawing- 
room and address a select audience on some seri- 
ous and talked- of question which he has carefully 
studied and considered from different points of 
view. The great merit of a conferencier is to be 
brief. He has to enunciate all the principles un- 
derlying the subject in a succession of apothegms, 
and, above all, he must not exceed twenty minutes 
in discharging his task. The most successful con- 
ferencier of his day was M. Nys, whose lecture 
on " The Neutrality of Belgium " is quite a to2ir 
deforce, and whose talent has been rewarded with 
a Judgeship in the Court of Appeal. 

Knough has been said, perhaps, to show that 
there is no inconsiderable amount of literary life 
in Belgium, notwithstanding that the public is 
engrossed in material pursuits, and that the opin- 
ion in general is in favour of earning money in- 
stead of fame. Up to the present, however, the 
display of true literary genius has been restricted 
to the Flemish race; but the old exclusive partial- 
ity for their own tongue is not retained by the 
writers of to-day, who are employing French as 
the means perhaps of achieving a wider distinc- 
tion. Thus it almost naturally happens that the 
distinguished writers Maeterlinck and Verhaeren 
have taken up their residence in Paris. In the 



Literature and Science 225 

sphere of politics the pen is mightier than the 
sword, and the combats of parties in the Cham- 
ber of Deputies are preceded and accompanied 
by the appearance of brochures, which place the 
issues before the country as they are regarded by 
Catholics, I^iberals, or Socialists. 

The literary club does not exist as the English 
understand it. There is a Cercle Artistique et Lit- 
teraire, very exclusive, in which the literary man 
is conspicuous by his absence. There is a circle 
of journalists, which is a society rather than a 
club, and which is at the other end of the social 
ladder. Halfway between the two is the Cercle 
Africain, a club primarily devoted, as its name 
implies, to those interested in the Congo, but 
which is, to a great extent, a literary institution. 
It occupies a picturesque old building known as 
the Hotel Ravenstein, which stands on the brow 
of the hill formerly crowned by the palace of the 
Caudenberg. The gentlemen who contribute to 
the Congo Beige ^ and the Congo Illustre, as well as 
to the better known Mouvement Giographique^ 
make it their headquarters, and lectures are peri- 
odically given there by officers returned from 
Central Africa. 

The artistic world of Brussels and Antwerp is 
somewhat more prominent than that of letters. 
The people have a genuine passion for music, and 
consequently those who excel in it have the as- 
surance that they have only to possess some merit 
to achieve a certain popularity. There is a further 



226 Belgian Life 

inducement to take up the study of music because 
the course at the Brussels Conservatoire is free to 
all Belgians, and there are prizes of different kinds 
for those who display exceptional merit in either 
composition or execution. Moreover, the Conserv- 
atoire is the recruiting-ground for the bands and 
orchestras of the country, so that the humblest 
student may imagine that he is qualifying for a 
career in life. The Conservatoire has undoubtedly 
produced some remarkable musicians, of whom at 
the present day M. Ysaye is the best known. 

The arts of painting and sculpture are recover- 
ing something of their lost pre-eminence and 
popularity in the Netherlands. The historical 
school, founded by Gallait and Wauters with the 
dawn of independence, still flourishes. The young 
school of Belgian painters are brilliant colourists, 
but when they achieve any distinction thej^ flit to 
Paris, and their reputation becomes French. The 
most brilliant of all Belgian painters is Alma 
Tadema, for, although Dutch by birth, he was 
educated and trained in the Antwerp school; and 
Sir Laurence, like his great predecessor Sir An- 
tonio Van Dyke, has done his best work in Eng- 
land. The prizes of supreme success and merit 
are too few to detain the greater class of artist 
at home. Belgium has also produced a long 
array of meritorious sculptors. The equestrian 
statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, in the centre of 
the Place Royale, is one of the grandest works 
of its kind, and will perpetuate the name of 



Literature and Science 227 

Kugene Simonis. The statues of Rubens and 
Van Dyke at Antwerp are scarcely less worthy 
of praise and reflect credit on the brothers Geefs. 
Antwerp is specially rich in statues produced 
by the modern school, and William Geefs, the 
better known of the two brothers, is represented 
in Brussels by the figure of the first lyCOpold 
that crowns the Column of the Congress. Much 
of the talent of the sculptor has been devoted 
to the embellishment and restoration of the old 
churches and town halls of the country. Many 
of these possessed niches which were supposed to 
or did hold statues, and many modern sculptors 
have been engaged in restoring or completing 
them during the last thirty or forty years. The 
Counts' Chapel at Courtrai is a striking instance 
in point, and similar work has been done outside 
the Town Hall of Ghent. There is one sculptor 
of great promise whose name may be mentioned, 
because he is half English, the Count James de 
Lalaing, a member of the famous family of 
Hainaut. 

Among Belgian architects of the last century, 
Guimard, who built the Palais de la Nation, 
and Poelaert, the designer and constructor of 
the grandiose Palais de Justice at Brussels, are the 
best known and need alone be mentioned. The 
Palais de Justice, which covers more ground than 
St. Peter's at Rome, occupies a site on the south- 
ern extremity of the hill on which stands the 
upper town. The site has been happily chosen, 



228 Belgian Life 

for it dominates the valley that separates the two 
lines of hills, and the massive pile is seen to the 
fullest advantage. Poelaert sought his inspiration 
in the Kastern World. The Hall of Karnak and 
the palaces of the Assyrian kings served him as a 
model, but the dome is that of St. Peter's. Nearly 
twenty years were occupied in erecting the build- 
ing, and about ;^i, 200,000 was spent on it, at 
which some Belgians occasionally make a wry face 
to-day as so much money wasted. On the other 
hand, the Belgians should feel some satisfaction 
in knowing that if it had been constructed by any 
of their neighbours it would have cost twice as 
much. There is no lack of patriotism in wishing 
that the I^ondon I,aw Courts and the Brussels 
Palais de Justice could change places. 

The profession of architecture is one of the most 
successful and best remunerated in the country. 
This arises from two causes, the necessity of pro- 
viding new residental quarters for the increas- 
ing population, growing visibly in wealth as in 
numbers, and the embelHshment of the principal 
towns, either by the restoration of old monu- 
ments, or by the construction of new buildings 
adapted to the requirements of modern days. 
King L,eopold II. is taking the lead in inaugurat- 
ing a regular plan for the improvement of Brussels 
in an aesthetic and architectural sense, which will 
make it worthy of its picturesque site. Not 
merely are new palaces and stations in course of 
construction, but the streets and squares in the 



Literature and Science 229 

new quarters are being laid out on a definite plan, 
and in a style that has been previously approved 
of by the authorities. Architects are thus having 
a busy and profitable time of it. Among their 
greater undertakings of lasting importance may 
be mentioned the buildings in connection with 
the new docks and quays destined to make 
Brussels a seaport. 

In science, especially in engineering, Belgians 
have taken a high place. The courses at several 
of their Universities are specially framed to give 
every one a chance of pursuing that career with 
credit and success if he chooses. As mineral- 
ogists, surveyors, and geologists, they have every 
opportunity of doing good and useful work in a 
country whose prosperity depends on the develop- 
ment of its resources on the surface of the earth 
and beneath it. Belgium is so thickly populated, 
and the population continues to increase at such 
a rapid rate, that the greatest anxiety is felt by 
thoughtful Belgians lest the plethora of inhab- 
itants should suddenly produce a decline in the 
national wealth and prosperity because shared by 
too many persons. Science, represented by en- 
gineering in the first place, is one of the chief 
agencies to which the authorities look for averting 
a national peril that might entail a national col- 
lapse. Hence the public rejoicing when it became 
known that the Campine, which was, practically 
speaking, unproductive, contained in its bosom 
coal deposits that may rival and must materially 



230 Belgian Life 

supplement those of Hainaut. A careful examin- 
ation of this extensive coalfield, on which fifty 
shafts have already been sunk, some to a depth 
of two thousand feet, has shown that the antici- 
pations as to its wealth have been in no way ex- 
aggerated. The deposits reveal good steam coal 
as well as anthracite. Belgian engineers are espe- 
cially good in the construction of railways. They 
display marked ingenuity in turning or evading 
great natural difficulties, and they work with a 
closer eye to economy than many of their com- 
petitors. This is especially true of light railways, 
which are made on a narrow margin of profit at 
which English plutocratic contractors would scoff. 
Finally, medical science has been highly devel- 
oped in Brussels. The courses at the two great 
hospitals, St. Jean at one end of the town and St. 
Pierre at the other, are largely attended by those 
who have taken the necessary diplomas in the 
Universities, as well as by foreigners. The med- 
ical degree of Brussels used to be much coveted. 
Any foreigner who wishes to practise in the coun- 
try must possess it, but it is usually conferred 
honorarily on any medical man who possesses 
equivalent degrees in another country. Belgian 
doctors have the reputation of being specially 
clever in cases of fever and cholera. The terrible 
epidemic of the latter in 1866-67 gave them many 
opportunities of studying the disease that did not 
fall to the medical practitioner in England. That 
epidemic was also the cause of a generally im- 



Literature and Science 231 

proved system of sanitation in the chief cities. 
Ghent was in a special degree purified, from the 
hygienic point of view. Brussels, at least the 
upper town, has been carefully drained. There is 
not a more sanitary city in Europe, and the sup- 
ply of water, now that the waters of the Bocq, a 
tributary of the Meuse, have been added to those 
of the old springs in the forest of Soignies, is ex- 
cellent and abundant. Science in Belgium is well 
represented by these improvements, for it takes 
a practical utilitarian form, which thoroughly 
appeals to the genius of the nation. 

Enough has been said to show that the intel- 
lectual life of the country is not dead. In the arts 
and the sciences the activity is by no means in- 
considerable, and this is the more remarkable be- 
cause the remuneration is small and the prizes are 
few. It is true that most people in Belgium work 
for small salaries which to Englishmen of the same 
grade seem a mere pittance, but the recompenses 
of any intellectual pursuit are in a still more strik- 
ing degree inadequate. I have reason to say 
that there is not an artist, musician, or author 
who by his earnings in Belgium and from Bel- 
gians makes ^500 a year, and that the successful 
journalist is very fortunate if he can make as 
much as ;^300. These earnings seem very small, 
but they are not out of proportion with those of 
Ministers of State at ^800, and Judges at a trifle 
more. There is, however, another hardship that 
literary men have to endure, and that is the want 



232 Belgian Life 

of social recognition and status. I have heard rich 
merchants scoff when the name of some clever 
writer among their own fellow-countrymen was 
named. It is well for a literary man in Belgium 
to have some definite place in society on his own 
account, or by reason of his family, or, failing 
these, to be at least a functionary. Otherwise he 
will fare badly. The artist, whether musician or 
painter, has a better chance. For him there is 
always an entrance to Bohemia, and, if he cannot 
discover that country in Brussels, Paris is not far 
off, and there are over a million of his countrymen 
resident in the French Republic. 







CHAPTER XVI 



IN IvKAFY ARDEJN 



THE greater part of Belgium might be fitly 
compared to a factory district in one half, 
or a market-garden in the other. The smoke- 
laden country of Charleroi and the Borinage, of 
lyiege and Seraing, presents as little that may be 
termed attractive as the flat and heavily manured 
vegetable fields of Flanders. But there is one 
splendid exception in the region commonly called 
the Ardennes, which includes the province of Lux- 
emburg and portions of the provinces of Namur 
and Liege. Here Belgium possesses a playground 
and a health resort which in its way will bear 
comparison with anything in Europe. The light 
railways have made the greater part of the Ar- 
dennes easily accessible; but there are still bits 
left here and there of the virgin forest, which 
may have given shelter to the Belgian tribes in 
the time of Caesar. For the Belgians, outside of 
this recognised holiday resort, business, and not 
pleasure, is the order of the day; but here, amid 
the pure charms of the country, they seek and 
find the change and recreation that enable them 
233 



234 Belgian Life 

to endure the atmosphere of the cities or manu- 
facturing districts during the greater part of the 
year. With the Belgians, a change to the mount- 
ain air of the Ardennes at some period of the year 
is almost as much a matter of course as the sea- 
side trip in July, August, and September, and on 
fi^te days, even in the winter, thousands of mem- 
bers of clubs and societies from all the large towns 
swarm into this region to visit some of the local 
curiosities, such as the Han grottoes, or merely 
to breathe ' ' the grand air of the country ' ' Qe 
grand air de la campagjie). 

The region is bounded on two sides — the north 
and the west — by the river Meuse. On the east 
it is flanked by that part of Rhenish Prussia 
which is known as the Volcanic Kiffel, and on 
the south there is France for the chief part, and 
the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg for a shorter dis- 
tance. As the part of France touched is also a 
portion of the ancient Ardennes, the scenery re- 
mains unchanged for a certain distance from the 
frontier, and this is especially the case in the 
woods extending north of Sedan to Bouillon on 
one side, and Florenville on the other. Here a 
few yards into the brushwood, flanking the Bel- 
gian road, takes one on to French territory. The 
elevation varies between four hundred feet and 
two thousand feet at the Baraque de Fraiture, 
which is the second highest point in the country. 
Two principal lines of railway pass through it 
from north to south. First there is the main line 



In Leafy Arden 235 

from Brussels to Switzerland, passing by Namur, 
Jemelle, I^ibramont, and Arlon, which are all con- 
venient halting-places, or junctions, for different 
parts of the Ardennes. Farther east there is the 
main line from Pepinster for Verviers to the Grand 
Duchy. Between the two are connecting lines 
from Liege to Huy and Ciney, from Liege to 
Jemelle, and from Gouvy to Libramont. On the 
western side, Jemelle and Rochefort are connected 
by an excellent light railway with Dinant on the 
Meuse, which is itself in communication with 
Namur by a line of railway that connects farther 
south with the French system at Givet. In the 
summer there is also an excellent steamboat ser- 
vice on the Meuse between Namur and Dinant. 
The best bits of Meuse scenery occur in this strip 
and for a short distance above Dinant, the steamers 
proceeding as high up as Hastiere. Another light 
railway branches off in a southerly direction at 
Houj^et, and forms a loop round the southern 
frontier, which it does not approach nearer than 
from five miles at Florenville to twenty at Bertrix. 
A steam-tram connects Paliseul, one of the stations 
on this line, with Bouillon, and another is in 
course of construction from Bertrix to Herbeu- 
mont, which may be continued into France, link- 
ing on with the French system near Messempre. 
These lines will render more accessible the beau- 
tiful Semois valley, to which reference will be 
made hereafter. 

In the centre of the picture stands La Roche, 



236 Belgian Life 

connected on one side by a tramway with the 
station of Melreux, but on every other separated 
by over twenty miles of road from a railroad. Be- 
tween it and St. Hubert exist some of the finest 
parts of the ancient forest, and the valley of the 
Upper Ourthe adds many romantic features to its 
sylvan glories. St. Hubert itself, although famous 
for its shrine in honour of the Hunter Saint, and 
for the annual pilgrimage which is as numerously 
attended as that to Lourdes, presents no attractive 
features to the traveller beyond the fact that it 
provides an excellent stopping-place for those 
who wish to drive, cycle, or walk through the best 
portions of the old forest. The best way to ac- 
complish this object is to divide the available 
time equally between La Roche and St. Hubert. 
By this arrangement, the whole of the valley of 
the Upper Ourthe can be explored, including the 
picturesque townlet of Houffalize, which is ex- 
ceedingly popular with the Belgians, because it 
stands high, and enjoys a great reputation for 
salubrity. 

For the purpose of description, the Ardennes 
may be divided into four groups, the valleys of 
the Ivcsse, the Semois, the Ourthe, and the Am- 
bleve. Of these the Lesse is the best known by 
English travellers, but, with the exception of a 
very small portion of this stream between An- 
seremme and Houyet, the Semois is by far the 
most beautiful river, and passes through the most 
picturesque scenery in Belgium. The L,esse rises 




THE CATHEDRAL AT ANVERS 



In Leafy Arden 237 

a little west of Libramont, and joins the Meuse at 
Anseremme, two miles above Dinant. One of its 
remarkable features is that it passes underground 
at Han, and flows through the celebrated grottoes 
at that place. A little below Han it sweeps round 
the royal chateau of Ciergnon, dominating a pic- 
turesquely wooded hillside. Although in the 
springtime much of the landscape is rendered 
brilliant by the bright and luxuriant gorse, which 
turns the surrounding heights into mountains of 
seeming gold, the striking portion of the river 
commences only at Houyet, and is limited to the 
twelve miles of its meandering course down to the 
Meuse. At first the river flows in a broad chan- 
nel, which in flood time spreads over the adjacent 
meadows, between great hills not less than five 
hundred feet above the valley, and covered from 
base to summit with trees of various kinds, but 
chiefly beeches and pines, which in October pre- 
sent a glorious mass of autumn tints. The cliffs 
are fully concealed with vegetation, and there is 
little that is savage or sombre. The crest of the 
hills on the right bank is occupied by the Chateau 
d' Ardenne, once a royal residence, but some years 
ago converted into a hotel. During the life of 
lycopold I. it was used as a shooting-box, and the 
sport over the sixteen thousand acres attached to 
it used to be very good; but as his son and suc- 
cessor had no tastes in the direction of sport, the 
place fell into neglect, until five years ago it was 
converted into a fashionable hotel. In the first 



238 Belgian Life 

King's time he resided in a tower which com- 
manded the best view of the Lesse, and this was 
said to be his favourite retreat. This Tower of 
the Rock {Tour du Rocher)^ as it is called, forms 
a conspicuous object in the landscape, and is the 
only part of the chateau which can be seen from 
below. The chateau itself stands at a distance of 
two or three hundred yards from this tower. 

Below this point the river takes a more savage 
form. The meadows have contracted, the sur- 
rounding cliffs are less covered with trees, and the 
river cuts its way through a narrow channel 
flanked by the walls of nature. The light railway 
passes through a succession of tunnels, the river- 
path, no longer close to the stream, often leaves 
it, and mounts, falls, and remounts with the exi- 
gencies of the locality. After six miles of increas- 
ing grandeur, the wildest and most characteristic 
feature of the I^esse is reached in the rocky 
heights of Furfooz, with their prehistoric caves. 
The path has crossed to the left bank of the river 
at Hulsonniaux, so that a full view is obtainable 
of this magnificent cliff, which presents an im- 
passable barrier to the river, and turns it round 
its base. The cliff side is battered and breached 
by the storms of countless centuries, and its grey 
and reddish side, with many a clough, looks like 
the wall of a fortress that has withstood a long 
siege. The caves of the reindeer age are exceed- 
ingly interesting, although all the human bones 
and utensils found in them have been long re- 



In Leafy Arden 239 

moved to the Museum at Brussels. One cave is 
in the side of the cliff at only a slight elevation 
above the river, and it is commonly believed that 
this cave was used as a place of burial. 

A little below Furfooz is a further collection 
of caves at Chaleux. In one of these was found 
a human jawbone of a very early period. The 
panorama which commences at Furfooz is com- 
pleted at Walzin. Here the river takes another 
bold sweep beneath a massive cliff, which extends 
from the ruined tower of Caverenne to the restored 
Chateau of Walzin, and forms an imposing amphi- 
theatre above the river. The Chateau of Walzin 
was built in the thirteenth century, and was once 
the stronghold of the Comtes d'Ardenne, and the 
De la Marcks. It stands sheer with the cliff, and 
the skill with which it has been restored by its 
modern proprietors reflects much credit on their 
good taste. From Walzin the final stretch of the 
river to Anseremme is short, and calls for no par- 
ticular notice. Formerly the junction of the 
Meuse and the I^esse was considered one of the 
pretty views on the former river; but the useful 
has overcome the picturesque. The fine stone 
bridge that has been thrown across the Meuse of 
recent years at this point, and which serves for the 
railway as well as for ordinary traffic, has quite 
destroyed the view favoured of old by artists. 
The excellent hotel accommodation obtainable at 
Dinant near one end of the Lesse valley, and at 
Rochefort at the other end, has made the whole 



240 Belgian Life 

of this district better known to English travellers 
than any other portion of the Ardennes, while the 
curious grottoes at Han and Rochefort, as well as 
the prehistoric caves round Furfooz, provide ob- 
jects of interest that attract the merely inquisitive 
as well as the learned. 

The valley of the Ourthe is much less known, 
and while it presents none of the striking features 
of the Lower Lesse, it passes through much pretty 
scenery. The name of the main stream is given 
indifferently to two of its upper courses, one, the 
longer, rising near lyibramont, and the other, 
which is much shorter, on the eastern frontier 
near Prussian territory. The two branches join 
about twenty miles above La Roche. The Ourthe 
flows into the Meuse at Liege. The two most 
picturesque places on its banks are Durbuy and 
La Roche. Durbuy is situated in a striking posi- 
tion on the river, concealed by hills, which overlap 
each other; and on approaching it from Barvaux, 
a turn of the road suddenly reveals its ruined 
castle and ancient bridge. There are few better 
subjects left in Belgium for the artist, and it has 
not become hackneyed. Durbuy is quite a small 
place; it has been called a little gem. 

La Roche is a place of far greater importance. 
It lies in a sort of basin, surrounded on all sides 
by lofty hills. The only approaches are those 
made by the Ourthe, which casts a loop round it. 
The road from Melreux, now flanked by the 
steam- tram, follows the course of the river, and 



In Leafy Arden 241 

so does one road to Houffalize. There are other 
roads which have been cut down the hillsides, one 
from Viel Salm, and the Baraque de Fraiture, 
another from Champion, where the roads to St. 
Hubert and Nassogne bifurcate. In the centre of 
the town, crowning the summit of a small rock, 
which gave the place its name, are the ruins of 
the old castle, familiarly known as that of the 
Counts. The woods surrounding La Roche are 
exceptionally fine, and present its great attraction. 
Among the local sights is the famous Chateau du 
Diable, a castle of nature's formation on the 
model of a robber or baronial stronghold. A good 
portion of the forest of St. Hubert is within driv- 
ing distance. 

The Ambleve is a tributary of the Ourthe, flow- 
ing into that stream near Rivage, a little before it 
reaches the Meuse itself. The Ambleve rises in 
Prussia, and flowing past Stavelot, presents its 
choicest bits of scenery at Coo and Aywaille. 
The Cascade of Coo is known by probably every 
visitor to Spa, but a visit to the whole of the val- 
ley from Rivage to Stavelot would repay the 
trouble. There is a light railway for the whole 
distance, with stations at convenient stopping- 
places, and excellent hotels. 

The fourth and last valley is that of the Semois, 
which is, beyond doubt, the most beautiful and 
attractive portion of the Ardennes. The pictur- 
esque bit of the Lesse does not exceed ten miles, 

whereas the Semois is beautiful throughout the 
16 



242 Belgian Life 

greater part of its course, or from Chiny to its 
junction with the Meuse at Montherme in France. 
In another respect the Semois surpasses the L<esse, 
and probably any other stream in Europe, and 
that is in its sinuous course. It meanders along 
by a succession of loops, great and little, which 
are reckoned at a hundred in a course of as many 
miles. As the Semois lies in the extreme south 
of Belgium, it was long outside the track of any 
ordinary traveller; and the means of getting there, 
until a few years ago, were confined to the dili- 
gence. In those days the Semois was frequented 
by a few anglers who had discovered the excel- 
lence of its trout, and the comfortable character 
of some of the hotels on its banks. The con- 
struction of the southern railway already referred 
to simplified the question of getting there, but 
even now a long drive has to be accomplished 
before reaching some of the most attractive spots 
on the river. Herbeumont, for instance, is a 
twelve-mile drive from Bertrix, and Alle is about 
the same distance from Paliseul or Graide. The 
steam-tram from Paliseul to Bouillon was the first 
direct communication by rail established with the 
river, just as that now in course of construction 
between Bertrix and Herbeumont will be the 
second. The southern line from Bertrix to Virton 
also crosses the river at Florenville, but that is so 
high up as to be of little use. One of the chief 
charms of the Semois valley was its inaccessi- 
bility, and, in old days, to follow its course on foot 



In Leafy Arden 243 

upwards from Montlierm6 seemed quite an adven- 
ture in an unknown land. It is now easy enough 
to reach; the French have laid down a light rail- 
way from Montherm6 to Hautes- Rivieres, their 
border town, and are now urging the Belgians 
to continue it on their side up to Bouillon. The 
advent of the railwaj^, however, will destroy the 
old charm of such places as Vresse and Alle — dear 
to the angler and the artist. 

Bouillon is the true central point of the district, 
because it is the only place with any pretensions 
to be called a town. Famous for the castle of 
Godfrey of Bouillon, which preserves better than 
any other that can be called to mind the aspect 
of the early mediaeval fortress, it must attract the 
archaeologist, while its position on the only main- 
road from France into the Ardennes makes it 
strategically important. But it does not present 
the advantages for residence that may be found 
at many other places along the valley. Bouillon 
is confined on every side, so that no fresh air 
reaches it, and as the town is of ancient date the 
houses are old, and the question of its sanitary 
condition is more than dubious. A local author- 
ity has computed that the graveyard has contained 
over one hundred thousand bodies. Bouillon will 
fully repay a visit for the inspection of its castle; 
but the well-instructed visitor will pass on quickly 
either to Alle in one direction or to Herbeumont 
in the other. 

Among the most popular excursions along the 



244 Belgian Life 

whole of the southern frontier is a visit to the 
battle-field of Sedan, which can be made with al- 
most equal convenience from any of the places in 
the Semois valley. The old post-road is from 
Bouillon to Sedan, and of late years this has been 
much improved by the construction of a new road 
on a different alignment. At Bouillon, too, is the 
Hotel de la Poste, at which Napoleon III. slept 
the night after the capitulation at Sedan. The 
'room he occupied is shown, and, little heeding the 
memories of that unfortunate disaster and its 
victim, the modern tourist may occupy the same 
four-poster as the fallen Emperor. Bouillon has 
other memories of the Franco- Prussian War. 
The place which Tureune called the key of the 
Ardennes was the headquarters of the Belgian 
Army protecting the neutrality of the Belgian 
frontier during that struggle. It was the chief 
hospital for the wounded Frenchmen who crossed 
the frontier. Many of them repose in the church- 
yard high up the hillside, reached by the Avenue 
of Sighs. Another excursion of a different kind 
is to the beautifully situated ruins of the once 
famous Abbey of Orval, about six miles from 
Florenville, and close to the French frontier. 

The finest bits of scenery on the river are, 
below Bouillon, the view from Corbion of the 
high cliff of Rochehaut or the view from Roche- 
haut itself of the river sweeping beneath in a wide 
semicircle round Frahan, and, above Bouillon, 
the savage channel from Chiny to I^a Cuisine. 



In Leafy Arden 245 

Here herons and martin-fishers find a congen- 
ial haunt in the rock-strewn passage, and the 
navigation of the channel on fragile punts is 
not free from excitement and a sense of danger. 
The traveller who wishes to make comparisons 
between the Semois and the Lesse must see these 
two totally different panoramas on the former 
river before he can be in a position to decide. But 
apart from these special spots, the whole of the 
Semois valley is picturesque, which cannot be 
said of the Lesse. Its picturesqueness is also en- 
tirely due to nature. There are no ruined or 
modern castles to suggest comparisons with the 
Rhine and the Moselle. Bouillon is the one ex- 
ception, for the ruins at Herbeumont are hardly 
perceptible until one has got close to the knoll on 
which the once famous castle stood. 

The great attractions of the Ardennes, as a 
whole, are the invigorating quality of the air over 
the whole of this plateau, well raised above the 
plains of Northern and Western Belgium, and the 
tranquillity of the life of the people, which forms 
a refreshing contrast to the bustle of the towns- 
Here, if anywhere, perfect rest can be found. 
The hotels, taken all through the country, are 
good, clean, and comfortable, with excellent food 
and cooking. In the month of August, when for- 
eign tourists come to largely swell the number of 
Belgian residents who are taking their holiday 
in the country, the hotels are crowded, and ac- 
commodation is difficult to obtain. But if there 



246 Belgian Life 

are no rooms in the hotel, the proprietor will 
always succeed in finding accommodation for his 
guest at some house in the town or village. The 
accommodation, however primitive, may always 
be relied upon as being scrupulously clean; and 
when it is remembered that the regular price for 
a bedroom is only one franc a night, this is very 
remarkable. I shall never forget reaching Bouil- 
lon once about midnight, and finding all the ho- 
tels full, and then being taken all over the town 
with the fireman from the tramcar engine, carry- 
ing his lamp, and acting as my guide until a 
vacant bedroom was found. It was long past 
midnight, when this was accomplished, and the 
woman of the house took an infinity of trouble to 
make me comfortable, although an arrival of this 
kind must have put her to great inconvenience 
with the prospect of very little recompense, for 
they will accept nothing more than the regular 
price, unless it is put as a gift for the children. 

Life in the Ardennes is moulded in a different 
fashion from that of the rest of the countr3^ It 
is more primitive and simple. The dinner is in the 
middle of the day, and at a place like Rochefort, 
which has two excellent hotels, it consists of five 
or six courses, and the regular price is two and a 
half francs, or two shillings, for the meal. The 
evening meal is called a supper, but there is al- 
ways one hot dish, and sometimes two. The 
average rate of the pension is five francs, which 
at the height of the season is slightly increased. 



In Leafy Arden 247 

For five shillings a day the tourist can always de- 
pend on a good clean bedroom and excellent food. 
The quality of the cooking varies, but at some 
of the hotels, such as the HoiBfmann at Alle, the 
Etoile at Rochefort, and the Bellevue at Viel 
Salm, it is really excellent. Now that the Ar- 
dennes are being steadily brought under cultiva- 
tion, the character of the province is undergoing 
considerable change. Many of the woods which 
formerly covered the provinces of Namur and 
Luxemburg have disappeared, and in their places 
are ploughed fields and great bare downs, on 
which flocks of sheep browse. Owing to the 
ruthless manner in which the country was being 
stripped bare, a law was passed ordering that 
when trees were cut down saplings should be 
planted. In consequence fir and pine woods are 
being created in all directions. There is also a 
tendency to plant fruit trees, and pears and apples 
are doing so well that some sanguine people are 
predicting that when the Ardennes cease to be a 
forest they will become an orchard. It is becom- 
ing the fashion of the wealthy merchants to have 
a country house in the Ardennes, and their villas 
of every scale of pretentiousness are to be found 
all over the province; but, as a rule, round some 
town with good railway facilities, like Rochefort. 
The representatives of the old feudal chiefs are 
practically extinct. Of those whose home is in the 
Ardennes, the Count de Limburg Stirum is per- 
haps the only representative left. But there are 



248 



Belgian Life 



numerous representatives of the country gentry 
class still surviving. They lead a quiet and re- 
tired life of their own, keeping strictly to their 
own set, giving occasional dinners to their neigh- 
bours, enjoying such sport as can be found where 
preservation is not attempted outside a very few 
large estates, and only getting any great excite- 
ment in the winter, when the cold sometimes 
drives the wild-boar to maraud on the farms. For 
the resident, as for the casual visitor, the Arden- 
nes are a very tranquil and economical place of 
abode. 




CHAPTER XVII 

SOMK POPUI.AR TYPES — MKN 

(AM perfectly aware that most English visitors 
to Belgium give a very unflattering descrip- 
tion of Belgian character, and fix upon some 
national traits or habits to make them subjects 
of ridicule. This was not the impression I formed 
of the people during the several years I resided in 
the country, mixing with all classes of society 
and visiting parts rarely if ever visited by other 
Englishmen. There are, of course, disagreeable 
persons in Belgium as in every other country, but 
I brought away the most agreeable opinion of the 
good qualities of the people as a whole, and in 
saying this I make no distinction between Wal- 
loons and Flemings. Both have their attractive 
side, although the latter are perhaps, on the 
whole, the more agreeable people to deal with. 
Leaving for others the unpleasant task of criti- 
cism, I wish only to dwell here on some of the 
popular types as they struck me in a favourable 
manner. Comparisons are notoriously odious, 
but in my opinion some of the types would com- 
pare favourably with the corresponding class in 
249 



250 Belgian Life 

England, although this is more especially the case 
with regard to the women, of whom I must treat 
in a separate chapter. 

If I were asked what class of men, taken as a 
whole, impressed me most favourably in Belgium, 
I should have to reply, the postmen. Perhaps 
my appreciation of the intelligence, amiability, 
and cheerfulness of the Belgian fadeur was en- 
hanced by a sense of the deterioration that has 
taken place in London, of late years, among the 
carriers. Everybody must have observed the 
diflferent manner in which the young recruit de- 
livers his letters from that of the older and more 
serious functionary to whom one was accustomed 
some years back. Nowadays the London post- 
man has only one object, — to get rid of his packet 
with the greatest despatch. The letters are of no 
value in his eyes, he crushes them into letter- 
boxes that are obviously too small to hold them, 
he does not study the names, and goes blindly by 
the number, so that a portion of one's correspon- 
dence is always at somebody's else house, and it 
depends on a good neighbourly feeling whether 
it is only hours or days before it comes to hand. 
I would send these indifferent carriers to hear lec- 
tures on the value of letters, and to Brussels to 
get lessons in the art of delivering them. 

The Belgian y^r/^z^r has raised the science of 
delivering letters to the level of a fine art. He 
works with his head as well as his fingers. He 
has mastered the first secret of the profession. 



Some Popular Types — Men 251 

The important fact on the envelope is not the ad- 
dress, but the name of the person. His object is 
to find that person. An error in number does not 
baffle him. There may be no street on the ad- 
dress. The name is called out to the assembled 
fadeurs in the sorting-hall at the Grandes Pastes, 
and the man who goes out to St. Gilles or Etter- 
beck exclaims: ** There is a person of that name 
at such and such an address; give it to me, and I 
will see if it is for him. ' ' If the person cannot be 
found in this way, the register at the bureau de po- 
lice is searched. If the name is not there, then only 
is it returned to the dead-letter office. I have had 
letters delivered to me which bore only the ad- 
dress Brussels, and I was a stranger in the land. 
There is another art that the/adeur has learnt. 
He is always cheerful of aspect, as if he were the 
bearer of nothing but good news, and when he 
brings a registered letter, he quite beams. I have 
once or twice, however, seen a grave sternness 
displace the smile, when the dull English man or 
woman, ignorant of the general custom, omitted 
to give him the three or four sous that is the usual 
reward for a letfre chargee. It is little omissions 
of this sort that explain a good deal of English 
unpopularity on the Continent. The Belgian 
postman not only delivers the letters, but also the 
newspapers to subscribers, and I never recollect a 
paper going astray in the course of three years. 
Perhaps he is seen at his best on the occasion of 
the New Year, when it is the custom to send one's 



252 Belgian Life 

visiting-card to all one's friends and acquaintan- 
ces. Then he works like a Titan to distribute the 
three million bits of pasteboard in Brussels alone. 

It may be admitted that the Brussels fac^etir 
would never be able to get through his work, or 
to do it so well, but for the electric- trams, which 
carry him from one end of the town to the other. 
These are used for another purpose in the matter 
of correspondence. A letter-box is to be found at 
the end of each car, into which an express letter, 
bearing an extra twenty-five centimes or 2}^d. 
stamp, may be dropped, and it will then be deliv- 
ered as rapidly as possible, not only in Brussels, 
but throughout the kingdom. Telegraph-boys 
are waiting at all the chief stopping-places to open 
these boxes, examine the letters, and take out 
those for places near at hand. If for the pro- 
vinces, the letter is taken out at the station, sent 
off by the next train, and delivered by telegraph- 
boy, or if the post-office is closed, by the station- 
porter. No doubt this system works better because 
the railways are owned and managed by the 
State. Express letters are in common use in Bel- 
gium, and, as worked on the uniform charge of 
2y2d., no matter what the distance may be, are 
undoubtedly a great public convenience. 

The tram-car employees are also a deserving 
body. They work very hard during long hours, 
and yet they always seem fresh and up to the 
mark. The cars are divided into first and second 
class, the difference being that in the former there 



Some Popular Types — Men 253 

are cushions. The receveurSy or collectors, are 
often the recipients of a little perquisite. Where 
the change would be five centimes, or a halfpenny, 
the fare will often not accept it, whereupon the 
receveur politely raises his cap. These little fa- 
vours, especially during the summer-time, total 
up to a considerable addition to the meagre wages 
paid by the tram companies. I cannot remember 
seeing a tram-car collector rude or disobliging to 
any one, and when a passenger rises too late to 
stop the car at one of the arrets facultatifs, he will 
generally express his regret at having got too far 
to make it possible. Accidents are not as numer- 
ous as might be expected, but pedestrians have to 
be on their guard, especially in crossing behind a 
stationary car on to the opposite line of traffic. 

The railway officials are another class who come 
a good deal under one's observation in travelling 
about the country. If the best side of them is to 
be seen, they require a little management, and 
some consideration must be paid to their dignity 
as State officials. The English tourist is rather 
prone to address the red-capped chef de gar e as if 
he were a porter appointed for the express purpose 
of giving bewildered travellers information. That 
is not included among the duties of a station- 
master in Belgium. His function is to look after 
the trains, not the travellers. On the other hand, 
if the traveller approaches him in the correct man- 
ner, which means by raising his hand to his hat, 
he at once unbends, and will do everything he can 



254 Belgian Life 

to assist him. The railway guards and ticket- 
collectors also have nothing whatever to do with 
luggage, and it is infra dig, for them to help take 
it out of the carriage. The porters are few in 
number, and their duties in taking luggage out of 
the van, etc., monopolise their time, so that the}^ 
too, are unable to assist travellers. As all these 
functionaries wear some sort of uniform, it is to 
them that the English traveller looks for aid 
which he never receives, and consequently he or 
she feels aggrieved at the indifference with which 
the demand for a porter is received. 

If, however, the traveller uttered the word com- 
missionnairey there would be no lack of ready 
hands to carry the baggage, as on every platform 
a goodly supply of these men stand ready for a 
job. They can easily be distinguished by their 
linen shirts or smocks, and they generally have a 
badge, either on their cap or their arm. These 
are the railway porters, in the English sense of the 
term, but they have no authority in the station, 
and must not do anything else but carry lug- 
gage. They are to be found outside the station 
also, but at Brussels a penny ticket has to be 
taken for them to secure their admission to the 
platform, even when carrying travellers' luggage. 

Among some national habits that get English 
travellers into difiSculties on the railways, is that 
of carrying all their belongings in the compart- 
ment with them. Now the carriages on all the 
cross lines, or chemins de fer vicinaux, are very 



Some Popular Types-— Men 255 

small. There are seats for sixteen persons, and 
in the tourist season the trains are always 
crowded. There is really no room in them for 
any luggage at all, beyond such light articles as 
can be put in the racks or under the seats. If 
luggage is carried in the compartment, a certain 
amount of discomfort must be caused to every 
other traveller, and unpleasantness follows. A 
scene of this character once came under my obser- 
vation, and the offenders in this case were two 
English ladies. They had found an empty com- 
partment, and under their instructions the commis- 
siojinaire had piled up their luggage on one of the 
seats assigned for two persons. There were sev- 
eral small portmanteaus, hold-alls, rugs, bags, 
and baskets, and, finally, a collection of golf 
clubs. They not only filled the seats, and the 
rack above, but overflowed on to the gangway. 
The ladies went away to get some refreshment, as 
the train was not to start for half an hour, in the 
happy belief that they had secured a whole com- 
partment for themselves and their luggage. As 
the time of departure drew near, passengers began 
to arrive and take their seats. Soon fourteen of 
the seats were occupied, and on the arrival of the 
ladies, with a commissionriaire bearing more bags, 
not a place was vacant. The ladies looked round, 
and began to complain to the co^nmissionnaire that 
there was no seat for them, but that person, rais- 
ing his cap, muttered Ce n' est pas inon affaire, and 
beat a discreet retreat. The ladies, or rather the 



256 Belgian Life 

one who could speak a little French, continued 
complaining, ''Where are we to sit ? " and seemed 
to expect other passengers to stand up so that 
their baggage might remain undisturbed. Find- 
ing that they understood French, a gentleman ex- 
plained that the seats were for travellers, not for 
luggage, and removing the bags, etc., on to the 
floor in the central gangway, said very politely, 
** There are your seats, ladies." This was meant 
in the way of civility, but the good ladies seemed 
to cherish resentment throughout the rest of the 
journey, exclaiming, when the .sliding door re- 
vealed the half of the carriage reserved for smok- 
ers, " Oh! there was heaps of room in there," and 
never thinking for a moment that they had acted 
very unreasonably, and were wholly in the wrong. 
There is scarcely a doubt that this incident will be 
cited by them as a proof of the incivility of Bel- 
gian fellow-travellers. 

The Brussels policeman has often been held up 
to ridicule, but it is altogether undeserved. The 
cartoon in Punch of the small representative of the 
law, who has ordered a big Flemish ouvrier in 
vain to get out of a beershop, ending the colloquy 
by saying, ** Then stay where you are," is not 
more true to life than such skits generally are. 
In the first place, the Brussels policeman is not so 
very small, but his loose and comfortable costume 
does not give him the stiff and imposing appear- 
ance of the English ' * men in blue. ' ' He is really 
a very active individual, and his courage is be- 



Some Popular Types — Men 257 

yotid question. It must be remembered that the 
criminal class with which he has to deal is far 
more dangerous than the English class, apart from 
the alien element in London, which is giving the 
police authorities there a taste of Continental con- 
ditions. Brussels criminals always carry revolvers, 
and know how to use them, and as they gen- 
erally work in couples, a solitary policeman has to 
be always on his guard. The newspapers are 
seldom without an account of an affray in which 
revolver shots are exchanged, but it is very rarely 
that a criminal escapes the hands of justice. The 
Brussels policeman is not, however, assumed to be 
at the service of every pedestrian in search of in- 
formation. Still, if asked a question with suffi- 
cient politeness, he will reply to the extent of his 
knowledge with equal civility. But his engross- 
ing duty is to watch the criminal classes, and to 
prevent them from doing much mischief. This 
duty he discharges in an efficient manner, con- 
sidering that the force to which he belongs is 
numerically weak, and that the criminal class is 
proportionally large. 

Passing to a higher class in society, I wish to 
say a good word for the Belgian officer. He, not 
less than the Brussels policeman, is made the ob- 
ject of caricaturists, and very unjustly. I have 
known or met a great many of them, and I have 
found them intelligent, earnest, and devoted to 
their profession, although its prospects are not 
very seductive, and the chances of earning any 



258 Belgian Life 

glory in it seem remote. This is the more re- 
markable because the greater number of Belgian 
officers come from the body of the people. They 
represent not a separate class or caste, but just the 
ordinary citizens of the country, and many of 
them have risen from the grade of sous-officiers. 
The noble class enters only the Guides, and to a 
less extent the Grenadiers, lyancers, and Cara- 
biniers. Outside the Guides there is also a com- 
plete absence of what is called " side." The 
Belgian officer is a quiet, inoffensive fellow, rather 
inclined to take the small affairs of his barrack 
life a little too seriously, but entitled to special 
credit for the attention he pays to the wants of 
his men, and to preserving good relations with 
them. It is not his fault if so little fighting has 
fallen to his lot, and if his reputation in real war- 
fare has still to be made. 

The official class in Belgium presents what 
might be considered the most favourable type of 
the Belgian gentleman. An official is always ex- 
tremely courteous (I speak of the representatives 
of the higher administration), and rather a stickler 
for formality. The pith of his remarks may be 
small, but he will cover it with a number of polite 
phrases, expressed in classic French. The staff 
of each cabinet, or the inner private office of a 
Secretary of State, or director of a department, is 
carefully recruited from the most promising can- 
didates, who are selected for their personal appear- 
ance and family connexions as well as for their 



Some Popular Types— Men 259 

attainments. They have also to undergo, after 
appointment, qualifying examinations to prove 
their fitness to pass into higher grades. In the 
Foreign Office, or Ministere des Affaires Etrang- 
^reSy the highest level of excellence is maintained 
under the guiding influence of Baron Lamber- 
mont, Belgian's leading statesman. He stands, 
at the age of eighty-four, as a living example of 
the model to which the young officials of his de- 
partment should attain. There are many stories 
told of his vigilance and activity, which, by all ac- 
counts, remain unabated. It was only the other 
day that he was invited to arbitrate between Eng- 
land and France on the subject of two disputes in 
West Africa — not for the first time, as on a pre- 
vious occasion he received the Grand Cross of the 
Bath for officiating in a similar capacity. Yet it 
is fifty years ago since he contributed towards 
saving in the first place, and developing in the 
second, the Duke of Wellington's estate in Bel- 
gium; forty years since he helped to free the 
Scheldt, from which event dates the prosperity of 
Antwerp; and, finally, twenty years have passed 
since he represented the Congo State with con- 
summate ability and tact at the Berlin Conference. 
Yet he seems as fresh and vigorous in intellect to- 
day as a man half his age. In his youth, Baron 
I^ambermont was an officer in the Spanish Army, 
and served with much distinction in the first Carl- 
ist War. On one occasion he performed an act 
which decided the victory, and for this he received 



26o Belgian Life 

the coveted Order of St. Ferdinand. This decor- 
ation is embroidered on the front of the coat. It 
is reported of a Spanish Grandee, sent to represent 
his country at Brussels, that at a reception he 
came across to Baron lyambermont and said, 
* ' Excuse me, Minister, but it is very extraord- 
inary to me how your Brussels tailors can em- 
broider your coat exactly like our Order of St. 
Ferdinand." It never entered his head that the 
peaceful director of the Foreign Department in 
Belgium, whose fame as a diplomatist had been 
European for so long a time, could have per- 
formed a military achievement which entitled him 
to wear the most coveted of Spanish orders. 

Another high official, whom I may select as a 
favourable type of the Belgian administrator, is 
the Baron Van Eetvelde, who was for many years 
the responsible director of the Congo State Gov- 
ernment in Brussels. He has not been directly 
responsible for the policy pursued since the end 
of 1898, and in the administration of its affairs, 
as well as the conduct of its diplomatic relations, 
he displayed before that time much ability and 
breadth of view. Some time ago he gave up the 
onerous office of Secretary of State, and was nom- 
inated a Minister of State with less severe duties. 
He was for some years Belgian Consul- General at 
Calcutta, and possesses an excellent acquaintance 
with the English language and with English 
opinion. More is certain to be heard of this 
statesman hereafter. 



Some Popular Types — Men 261 

Perhaps these detached portraits, taken from 
different classes, will suffice to show that those 
who denounce everything Belgian must be either 
grossly prejudiced or possess but a slight know- 
ledge of what they are talking about. Taking the 
best specimens in every walk of life they are a dis- 
tinctly pleasing people to have relations with. 
They are franker and more outspoken than the 
French, while they are not so overbearing and 
dictatorial as the Germans. They are, indeed, 
just what their race makes them, half-way be- 
tween the two. At the same time they are not the 
easiest men to debate with, for, after the ordinary 
conventionalities of society are passed, they be- 
come very dogmatic and vigorous in the assertion 
of their own opinions, arguing from first prin- 
ciples, and insisting on the paramount authority 
of philosophical axioms in complete indifference 
to the hard facts of this workaday world. I am 
quite sure that should the Prussians ever force 
their way down the Avenue Louise the Independ- 
ance Beige of the previous evening would have 
contained an editorial descanting in sonorous 
phrases on the inviolable rights of a little nation 
to be free, not merely in its own institutions, but 
in its criticism and censure of others. As a part- 
ing advice, it is well not to get into any warm 
discussion with Belgians, but to listen to the ex- 
pression of their views, and to confine one's own 
remarks to safe generalities. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

SOMK POPUIvAR TYPKS — WOMEN 

NO one can reside any time in Belgium without 
forming a very high opinion of its women, 
of their thrift, cleanHness, and capacity for work. 
Even EngHsh visitors, who are always more or 
less prejudiced against everything foreign, and 
who have not a word to say on behalf of the men, 
are impressed in their favour, and make compari- 
sons unflattering to the corresponding class in Eng- 
land. There is, for instance, a complete absence 
of that tawdriness which is so obtrusive and offen- 
sive among British working classes, and the neat 
and tidy way in which all the women in Belgium, 
without exception, arrange their hair is a striking 
contrast to the dishevelled locks or flaunting chig- 
nons of their English sisters. A case of a Belgian 
woman wearing any hair but her own is not to be 
found. The first impression formed in the coun- 
try is that the women do all the work, which 
brings the reflection in its train that the men must 
have an easy time of it. On the latter point this 
is corrected by greater knowledge of the subdi- 
vision of labour; but the opinion that the female 
262 



Some Popular Types — Women 263 

half of the community works as hard as the male 
will not in any way be modified. Women manage 
all the shops, from the small groceries and green- 
groceries up to businesses of importance, and it is 
only in the largest establishments that men take 
their place. They will be helped in this task by 
their children or, if there is one, by the grand- 
father; but it is considered somewhat undignified 
for an active man to mind a shop. He will often 
seek and obtain employment outside the business 
which his wife stops at home to conduct. All 
the purveyors and carriers of milk are women, 
and their little carts, drawn by dogs with their 
bright brass cans, are one of the sights of Brus- 
sels, especially when they are all assembled on the 
Grand' Place for inspection. 

This inspection takes place at the early hour of 
six, and consequently finds but few English spec- 
tators throughout the year. It is rather an inter- 
esting sight. The inspection is held for the 
purpose of ascertaining whether or not all the 
regulations are properly observed. The cans are 
carefully examined with regard to their cleanli- 
ness and state of repair, the milk is also tested, 
and the arrangement of the girth and straps is 
looked to, lest they should chafe the dog. Lat- 
terly a small piece of carpet for the dog to lie on, 
and a drinking-bowl have been added as part of 
the essential equipment of a milk-cart. Of course 
it goes without saying that the quality of the milk 
on the day of inspection is always exceptionally 



264 Belgian Life 

good, but it must not be supposed that the test is 
applied only on these fixed occasions. A certain 
number of police inspectors are sent out every 
morning to stop vendors of milk, and test their 
milk on the spot. As it is never known when or 
where this inspection may be made, the watering 
of milk is not common. The offence is punish- 
able by fine, but if frequently committed entails 
the withdrawal of the licence to sell, and that 
means losing a certain livelihood. 

As reference has been made to the dogs which 
draw the milk-carts, or barrows, it will be appro- 
priate to say something on the subject of employ- 
ing dogs for draught purposes, which is common 
throughout Belgium. With regard to the milk- 
cart dogs, they are always a large breed of dog, 
and frequently there are two dogs to a cart. As 
the sale of milk is profitable, and means that the 
person engaged in it earns a good livelihood, these 
dogs are well fed. They also come in for a cer- 
tain amount of scraps at the houses at which they 
call regularly each morning. So far as any suf- 
fering by the dog thus employed is in question, I 
do not believe there is any. He is in good fettle, 
and as he is a big, powerful, and combative fellow 
he is generally muzzled. Leaving aside the broad 
and comprehensive question as to whether dogs 
were ever intended by nature for draught work 
which was decided in the negative in England only 
about fifty years ago, I think it may be safely as- 
sumed that the employment of these big dogs in 



Some Popular Types — Women 265 

the little milk- carts of Belgium, is free from posi- 
tive cruelty. This remark also applies to the same 
kind of dog emplo3^ed by the greater number of 
the laundresses, and by some of the bakers. But 
as it is permissible by the law of the land to use 
dogs for draught — or as thej^ are called chiens de 
traii — it follows that the poor or the lazy use any 
and all dogs, big or small, well-fed or ill-fed, to 
drag their cars and carts carrying their goods for 
sale, and not infrequently themselves. In the 
strict economy of the Belgian social system dogs 
have no right to existence except as beasts of bur- 
den. The rich may indulge themselves with the 
luxury of a chien de maison or a chien de chasse^ 
but for the Belgians who work, from the peasant 
to the shopkeeper, a dog has no other interest or 
value than as a fellow-worker and obedient slave. 
It is the inevitable concomitant of this practice 
that cases of cruelty must be frequent, and that 
the wretched condition of many of the dogs so 
employed leads to a general condemnation of Bel- 
gian character as indifferent to animal suffering 
and as tolerating a system from which a greater 
or less degree of cruelty in inseparable. It is un- 
necessary to dilate upon the spectacles of cruelty 
which are to be witnessed in every part of the 
kingdom, and which diminish the pleasure of at 
least many English visitors who come to stay in 
the country. 

Of late a sentiment has been springing up 
among the rich in Belgium that something should 



266 Belgian Life 

be done in the matter. The Belgian Government 
is notoriously timid in the matter of introducing 
fresh legislation on any subject. This arises from 
a mixed feeling that a new law may be regarded 
as a reflection on the Constitution, and that it is 
perilous to interfere with the customs of the peo- 
ple. For these reasons it has done and will do 
nothing in the matter of the employment of dogs 
for drawing purposes, until at least a marked 
change has occurred in public opinion on the sub- 
ject, of which there is at present no sign, except 
among the wealthy. They have founded a So- 
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 
and in some towns one may see its notices on the 
walls : ' * Traitez les animaux avec douceur. ' ' But 
it rarely, if ever, brings a case of cruelty into 
court, and there is good reason to doubt whether 
it would obtain a single judgment in its favour if 
it did. A more hopeful sign is the action of the 
Antwerp Corporation, which has drawn up a set 
of regulations against dogs being worked under a 
certain size, and requiring the weight drawn to be 
in fair proportion to the size and strength of the 
dog. 

To return to our subject after this digression 
suggested by the Brussels milk-carts. It is im- 
possible for an observer not to be struck by the 
bright and contented appearance of the women in 
Belgium. The cares of life weigh lightly upon 
them, and they find a real pleasure in their occu- 
pations. As all the workwomen on ordinary days 



Some Popular Types — Women 267 

go about bareheaded, the neatness with which 
they arrange their hair in the most simple style 
at once attracts notice. This practice is universal, 
and in Belgium a woman's hair is her chief glory. 
In cold or rainy weather they draw a shawl over 
their heads, and this is the only protection they 
employ against the weather. Umbrellas are re- 
garded as a luxury that does not come within the 
purview of the masses. Apart from the care 
which they bestow on their hair the most striking 
points in the appearance of these young women 
are the trimness of their dress, which is always 
short, not coming below the ankle, and the ac- 
tivity with which they hasten through the streets 
on their errands, looking neither to the right hand 
nor the left. In this respect they furnish a 
marked contrast to the men, who saunter over 
their outdoor work, and generally include a gossip 
and a consommation, or drink, as a part of the task 
of delivering a parcel. 

In short, the women of Belgium, apart from the 
domestic duties which fall to their lot everywhere, 
perform their half of the work of the country, and 
for some reason or other are more in evidence than 
the men. They take it quite naturally, and are 
remarkable for their cheery aspect, and, in fact, a 
morose or disappointed-looking face is scarcely to 
be seen among them. A main cause of this is no 
doubt the bright, invigorating climate, which en- 
ables them to get through their work without 
fatigue. Another is the early hour at which 



268 Belgian Life 

everybody commences the daily occupation, so 
that the greater part of the household work and 
the marketing is done before the ordinary English 
breakfast hour. Late rising is often attributed to 
the English as a great fault, and as an explana- 
tion of the success of foreign competition. But it 
is really due to the heaviness of the atmosphere as 
compared with that in Belgium. I have heard 
Belgians themselves complain that in London they 
had as much difficulty in getting up at eight in 
the morning as they had in Brussels or Liege in 
rising at six, or even earlier. On the other side 
of the question it must be noticed that compara- 
tively less work is done on the Continent in the 
afternoon than in England, so that early rising 
may not signify all the gain that is attributed to it. 
One of the most typical characters in the life of 
the towns is the patro7ine, the wife of the pro- 
prietor, or the proprietress herself, of a restaurant 
or cafe. She sits or stands behind a kind of bar, 
which is prettily decorated, and which provides a 
commanding post of observation. The waiters 
carry the orders to her and she passes them on 
through speaking-tubes to the kitchen or the 
wine-cellar. Active work in a cafe or cafe-res- 
taurant rarely commences before midday, but it 
continues till long after midnight. The waiters, 
or gargons, have made everything clean and 
spruce by eleven o'clock, and shortly afterwards 
the patrojine will take up her position at the bar 
in anticipation of the work of the day. From 



Some Popular Types — Women 269 

twelve to two the place will be crowded, in pro- 
portion with its popularity, and in the cafe the 
bustle will continue still longer. But at half-past 
two the proprietor — who has been not less occu- 
pied in his own department, supervising the chef 
and looking after the wine orders, than his better 
half — his wife, their daughters, who, if grown up, 
are also in the bar, and any other children all sit 
down to their dejeilner at one of the tables in the 
cafe. They have deserved their meal, and enjoy 
it. They criticise their food and the quality of 
their chef's cooking just as freely and impartially 
as the casual or regular visitor. They have their 
bottle of wine for the whole family, and also their 
glass of beer apiece, the younger members mixing 
water with the wine, and all drinking a tumbler 
of water at some stage of the repast. At four 
o'clock iho^ patronne and her daughters disappear 
to make preparations for the evening, and if the 
restaurant is a well-known resort for diners the 
preparations will be most elaborate. The patronne 
puts on her jewellery, and the prosperity of the 
house may be gauged by the size and colour of 
her diamond earrings. At five o'clock she is back 
at the post of command, as diners begin to arrive 
at six o'clock, or even before. More fashionable 
persons come in at seven, but by eight o'clock all 
the dinners in the great majority of the restaur- 
ants are over. At half-past the family, taking 
advantage of the lull, which is not broken till after 
the theatre hour, sit down to their own supper. 



270 Belgian Life 

They do full justice to the repast, and perhaps 
they have invited some friend or relative to join 
them, in which case a special bottle of wine may 
be brought up from the cellar. But, as a rule, 
they take very little wine, a bottle between five 
or six persons, and always the lowest priced on 
the list. From ten till midnight the place is again 
crowded, and all is bustle and clatter. At mid- 
night the majority of customers will have gone 
home, but even as late as two in the morning the 
patronne may be seen at her post ready to see that 
the belated visitor gets what he asks for. I have 
used the word ' * bar, ' ' but perhaps counter is a 
more correct term, as no one drinks at it. On 
entering and leaving it is the proper thing to 
raise one's hat to "Madame." The observance 
of this simple and easily acquired act of courtesy 
in shops would much increase the popularity of 
Knglish visitors. 

As between Flemish and Walloon women it i;5 
difi&cult for an outsider to draw a just comparison. 
In appearance the Flemings are shorter and 
slighter than their half-sisters. They are also a 
fair-haired race, w4th bright complexions and 
pink cheeks. The Walloon is far taller and big 
in proportion, generally dark, with pale face and 
very marked features, although tradition declares 
that she should be fair, and assigns for dark- 
haired women a Spanish or even a Roman origin, 
which is going rather far back. It is not at all 
uncommon to meet a flaxen-haired woman of 



Some Popular Types- — Women 271 

grand phj^sique among the Walloons of I^iege and 
lyuxemburg, and this is especially the case among 
some of the old noble families. But, as a rule, 
the Walloon woman is dark, just as the Flemish 
is fair. There is more energy about the Fleming 
and more dignity about the Walloon. The former 
works harder and calls the latter lazy; the latter 
is a better manager, and requires a higher grade 
of comfort in her domestic life, and is disposed to 
regard her Flemish sister as being somewhat be- 
hind the day and not quite on the same plane of 
culture as herself There may be some founda- 
tion for this, and if we were to apply the test of 
cooking, Walloon cooks are pronounced superior 
in every way to Flemish. It is said that the 
Flemings, despite their clean and natty appear- 
ance in the streets, are not so scrupulously clean 
in their domestic arrangements as is desirable, and 
as is undoubtedly the case throughout the Wal- 
loon part of the country. Both have a marked 
partiality for fine clothes and bright colours, and 
those who have only observed the people in their 
workaday clothes would not recognise the same 
persons as they go to mass on Sundays. The 
Walloons dress in better taste than the Flemings, 
and as they are considerably taller they carry 
their clothes more gracefully and with greater 
effect. The art of dressmaking has been carried 
to a higher point of perfection among them, and 
most Walloon girls can cut out their own clothes 
and make them in the latest fashion. It is quite 



272 Belgian Life 

remarkable to notice the degree to which the art 
of dressing well is carried among the Walloon 
women of all classes, especially as there is no cor- 
responding movement among the men. While 
the men in their Sunday clothes are just ordinary 
provincials, their wives and daughters might 
easily be mistaken for Parisiemies. 

It is a common assumption that Belgian women 
are very fond of pleasure, but it is certain that 
they get very little amusement. They are sup- 
posed to find it in their work and their household 
duties, for it is only on f^te days that regular toil 
is superseded by what may be called the idea of 
pleasure- seeking. Even the fine clothes, of which 
they are so proud, are carefully put away and 
stored up on return from church, or, at the long- 
est, after the afternoon promenade in fine weather. 
In the towns, visits are paid on rare occasions to 
the theatre, and, as work begins for every one at 
such an early hour, it is not surprising that every- 
body goes to bed early. Even among the middle 
classes, when the man goes to his cafe or to his 
cerde to read the newspapers or hear the gossip, 
his wife remains at home attending to her sewing. 
It is only on f^te days and Sundays during the 
summer that she expects to accompany her hus- 
band and make an excursion to her home, or the 
theatre, or at the least to an open-air cafe or beer- 
garden, and see and hear what is going on. This 
is, or should be, enough to establish the fact, if 
any doubted it, that the Belgians are an essentially 



Some Popular Types — Women 273 

domestic people, who find their pleasure at home 
in their family work and duties. This domes- 
ticity is equally characteristic of the two races, 
and explains the old Flemish proverb: " Kast, 
west, home 's best." 

The characteristics which mark the people at 
large are also found among the leisured and well- 
to-do classes. The Belgian lady has very much 
the same views of life as her humbler sister. 
Money means practically finer clothes, more visits 
to the theatre, a longer vacation at the seaside or 
in the country, but the objects that constitute her 
ideas of a pleasant life are practically the same. 
Society passes its time with a certain lazy indiffer- 
ence and a complete absence of the exciting whirl 
of entertainments that constitutes high life in I^on- 
don and Paris. There is a considerable amount 
of visiting, afternoon teas have become popular, 
the daily drive to the Bois for those who keep a 
carriage is de rigtceur, and there are occasional 
charity bazaars; but these must all form part of 
the regular existence anywhere of those who have 
no obligation to work for their living. The chief 
feature of Belgian society, as of Belgian life gen- 
erally, is its domesticity. The family and its 
affairs form the pivot upon which the whole social 
system turns. It is very creditable and home- 
like, if the charge cannot be avoided that the re- 
sult is a trifle dull. Belgian ladies dress well and 
Brussels dressmakers are undoubtedly very skil- 
ful and not much, if at all, behind the same class 
18 



2 74 Belgian Life 

in Paris. The fashions come from Paris, but they 
reach Brussels before London, and the sight on 
the boulevards on an early spring morning is very 
striking. The colours are brighter than are usual 
with the English, and the warm sun and clear air 
show them off to the best advantage. Then one is 
able to judge the truth of the French poet's refer- 
ence to the peau lactie, the milky complexion of 
the fair ladies of Brussels, or les belles Bruxelloises. 
Notwithstanding their skill and good taste which, 
although less talked about, is quite equal to that 
of Paris, the Brussels dressmakers are consider- 
ably more reasonable in their charges than those 
of the French capital, and this is true in a still 
more marked degree of the milliners. 

Every Belgian lady insists on her husband al- 
lowing her each year at least two costumes in the 
latest fashion for the promenade or for making 
formal visits. She takes the greatest care of them, 
never wearing them in the house, so that they re- 
main fresh to the end of the six months, when 
the change of the season and of fashion exacts the 
purchase of the new costume. A costume to go 
en ville, which is the phrase for going to look at 
the shops, will cost something between two and 
three hundred francs; but in every other respect 
than these two annual dresses the greatest econ- 
omy will be practised, and the other ordinary 
house-clothes will all be made at home by the mis- 
tress, with the occasional aid of a sempstress. If 
the wife of an average professional man, or an 



Some Popular Types — Women 275 

official, gets thirty pounds a year as her dress- 
money she is perfectly contented, even if there are 
two or three children to be clothed out of it. In 
many cases the lady's parents make her an allow- 
ance for dress, which is either part of the original 
dot or an addition to it. 

Taking a comprehensive view of the position of 
women in Belgium, the conclusion to which one 
must come is that they form a scarcely less im- 
portant moiety of the nation than the men, and 
that they contribute as workers in a material de- 
gree to secure the remarkable prosperity which 
the country has enjoyed for so many years. From 
many points of view they possess either specific 
merit or present such features of interest as to 
furnish ground for the belief that their good quali- 
ties supply the true source of Belgian prosperity. 
It would be a good thing for Great Britain if some 
of their thrift, good management in the household, 
cheery content in their work and in their station 
in life, could be imported together with the large 
quantities of the natural produce of the South 
Netherlands. They throw all their energies into 
their work, and their chief pride and pleasure lies 
in doing it well and to the best of their ability. 
If a j^oung Belgian woman describes herself as a 
cook, it can be assumed that she has some good 
reason to call herself one, and that in her degree, 
of which the salary she asks will be the indication, 
she is proficient. If she ic merely a fille a tout 
/aire, she will work her hardest from six in the 



276 



Belgian Life 



morning till nine at night, and only expect one 
evening in the fortnight to amuse herself by going 
to the dance at the little meeting-rooms for ser- 
vants and their young men which are to be found 
in even the smallest towns of the kingdom. The 
women of Belgium appreciate the dignity of la- 
bour, and their happiness lies in their work and 
their capacity for doing it. 




CHAPTER XIX 

SEAPORT AND SAII^OR I.IFK 

ALTHOUGH Belgium has a first-class seaport 
in Antwerp, despite the fact that it is situ- 
ated sixty-five miles up a difficult and tortuous 
river, and a second port in Ostend of considerable 
value, there is little or nothing in its history of 
maritime skill or enterprise. The ' * sea-beggars ' ' 
were men of the provinces north of the Scheldt, 
or Dutch, and after the cleavage of the Nether- 
lands, the one fixed point in the policy of Holland 
was to keep the Scheldt closed and to prevent Ant- 
werp from ever becoming the rival of Rotterdam or 
Amsterdam. It is only since the freeing of the 
Scheldt in 1863 that a marked change has taken 
place, and if ever Belgium becomes a maritime 
State, which is not impossible, she will date her 
growth from that event. 

In addition to the political closing of the Scheldt 
by jealous rivals, the natural condition of the coast 
of Flanders will explain the absence of naval ac- 
tivity and the practical non-existence of Belgian 
sailors until a quite recent period. From Nieu- 
port to Heyst the low-lying coast is fringed by the 
277 



27S Belgian Life 

sand dunes which have been cast up by the sea, 
and, with the exception of Ostend, there is not a 
seaport on this treacherous coast, which is ren- 
dered especially dangerous for navigation by shal- 
low and difficult channels, and by the dense mists 
that suddenly arise in the summer as well as 
the winter. The improvements at Ostend have 
adapted that place to the requirements of a port 
for cross-Channel passenger traffic between Eng- 
land and Belgium, and the approaching opening 
of Zeebrugge as the calling point for ocean-going 
steamers at the outlet of the Bruges ship-canal 
will add another port to the coast of Flanders. 

But if there is a dearth of sailors in Flanders, 
there is a hardy fishing population along this 
coast, and probably not fewer than five thousand 
men and boys earn their livelihood on the sea. 
Of these, nearly one-half hail from Ostend, but at 
Hej^st, Middelkerke, Nieuport, and Blanken- 
berghe the bulk of the inhabitants gain their live- 
lihood as fishermen. It is quite a pretty sight tu 
see the fishing-smacks putting out to sea from any 
of the places named, but more especially from Os- 
tend; but as this generally happens very early in 
the morning, it is more often their return than 
their departure that comes under the observation 
of the foreign visitor. They are good sea-boats, 
and although their usual fishing-grounds are only 
about ten miles off the coast, they sometimes ex- 
tend their trips to a much greater distance. On 
the sail of each boat its reo:istered number has to 



Seaport and Sailor Life 279 

be clearly stamped, with the abbreviated name of 
the port from which it hails. The largest smacks 
belong to Ostend, and the majority of them are 
the property of companies or guilds. Elsewhere 
the fishermen to a large extent own their own 
boats. The dangers of the coast, especially in 
the winter, are clearly proved every year by the 
loss of one or more of these smacks, and collisions 
with the steamers passing to Ostend and the 
Scheldt are not infrequent in thick or hazy 
weather. During the bad weather of the summer 
of 1903 several such accidents occurred, and on 
one occasion several boats from Heyst were lost, 
causing much grief and misery in that place. 

In her fishing population along the coast, there- 
fore, Belgium has the available material for man- 
ning a small navy with men accustomed to life at 
sea. The impression they give is that they are a 
hardy and wiry set of men capable of undergoing 
a good deal of hardship and privation, and it 
would be difficult to differentiate them from the 
Dutch, whose ancient skill and reputation as sea- 
men have not diminished. The Heyst fishermen 
have a local reputation as making the best sea- 
men, but there is probably no marked difiereuce 
between the men of one place and those of an- 
other. There is certainly nothing in their ex- 
ternal appearance to suggest such a difference. 
The prevalent use of the wooden sabot while 
on shore gives them a clumsy appearance. On 
their boats, those who retain the use of the sabot 



28o Belgian Life 

generally wear exceedingly thick worsted stock- 
ings, which are rolled over the trousers, and dis- 
pense with any other foot covering. The use of the 
jack or long sea-boot is coming in, and is regarded 
as evidence of prosperit}^ but it may be suspected 
that before the boat has got far out to sea the boots 
are laid aside for the plain stockinged feet. 

The commercial marine of Belgium is exceed- 
ingly limited. The two Ostend lines of packets, 
one for passenger traffic to Dover and the other 
for fruit, vegetables, and parcels, as well as pas- 
sengers to London, employ a certain number of 
Flemish sailors. The navigating staflf of these 
packets is Belgian, and the absence of accident is 
a tribute to their skill. Engineers as well as offi- 
cers and crew are Belgians, but the stewards and 
cabin boys are almost without exception German. 
Flemings are also to be found on the English sub- 
sidised steamers (Elder line) from Antwerp to the 
Congo, and on the Red Star (American line) from 
the same port to the United States. Besides these 
ocean lines there are a limited number of Belgian- 
owned ships trading between Belgium and the 
British Isles chiefly in timber and coal. The bulk 
of Belgian commerce is carried in British ships, 
and the majority of the sailors on the Antwerp 
quays are Britishers. In the last ten years, how- 
ever, there has been a considerable increase in the 
numbers of both Flemish sailors and Flemish 
vessels. 

It is always difficult to fix precisely what may be 



Seaport and Sailor Life 281 

the effect produced by a single incident upon a great 
national evolution, but certainly the Antarctic ex- 
pedition of 1 899-1 900, led by M. de Gerlache on 
the Belgica, furnished a considerable incentive to 
the movement for endowing Belgium with a na- 
tional navy. If a nation can produce officers and 
sailors, as well as men of science, ready to pass a 
winter in the snow and the ice of the polar re- 
gions, it follows that it must be considerably 
advanced on the road to nautical experience and 
achievement. It is probable that M. de Gerlache 
will make a still greater reputation among Arctic 
explorers, as his ambition turns in that direction. 
An impetus is likely to be given to the move- 
ment by the scheme for establishing a national 
mercantile marine, the first step towards which 
has been the order to construct a training-ship 
and the bringing together of an efficient training 
staff. An elaborate scheme of instruction has 
been drawn up, and the total cost for a naval 
cadet is not to exceed £2,'^ a year. The ship, 
which is not to exceed two thousand tons, is be- 
ing constructed at the Cockerill works at Hobo- 
ken, above Antwerp, and is to be named the 
Count de Smet de Naeyer^ after the Belgian Pre- 
mier, who is taking a prominent part in directing 
the arrangements necessary for the organisation 
of the scheme. It is hoped by this means to form 
the nucleus of a corps of officers which will make 
Belgium less dependent on foreign aid in carrying 
on its trade beyond the seas. 



282 Belgian Life 

Whether the movement succeed to the full ex- 
tent that its promoters expect or not, there can be 
no doubt that it will result in all lines employed 
in any way on State service, such as the Congo 
line, becoming national and manned more or less 
by Belgian officers and seamen. There is one im- 
portant fact to be noticed. The movement is es- 
sentially Flemish, and the Walloons, who know 
nothing of the sea, from which they have always 
been cut off, take no part, and probably feel little 
interest in it. One consequence of the Flemish 
origin of the movement is that that language will 
have to be employed on board ship, for the fisher- 
men of the coast know scarcely a word of French. 

The extensive works in progress to make Brus- 
sels a seaport — the quays and docks under con- 
struction are grandiose — are evidence of the zeal 
and energy with which the Belgians are throwing 
themselves into a movement that may enable them 
to get rid of some of their excessive population. 
A great many years must still elapse before the 
projected ship-canal to the capital is in working 
order. The crowded state of the canals and of the 
smaller rivers, like the Dender and Lys, shows the 
great need of internal water communication as 
well as the bustling and restless activity animat- 
ing commercial and industrial circles in Belgium. 

There is one curious fact suggested by Belgian 
development on the sea that has rarely received 
notice out of treatises on international law, and 
not often in them. If there is ever to be any 



Seaport and Sailor Life 283 

marked development of Belgian maritime import- 
ance, it must commence at and radiate from 
Antwerp. Now, the position of Antwerp is anom- 
alous, for it is on a river the entrance to which 
is in the possession of another country. A little 
below that city Holland owns both banks of the 
river, and continues to do so until it is lost in the 
sea. The lower Scheldt is exclusively Dutch, 
and consequently no State at war with Belgium 
could send men-of-war up it to attack Antwerp 
without, by the act, committing hostilities against 
Holland at the same time. The question will 
probably never possess any but theoretical inter- 
est, but it may be mentioned that Belgians see in 
this fact an additional guarantee of their neutral- 
ity, and a further proof of the identity of their 
interests with their northern neighbours, the 
Dutch. 

Seaport life in Belgium is not more attractive 
than it is anywhere else. Antwerp, it must be 
admitted, has acquired a bad name for rowdyism, 
especially for the systematic swindling of English 
sailors, who, on returning from a long cruise, were 
often relieved of their earnings a very few days 
after their arrival, and left penniless. It was very 
difficult to provide a practical remedy for this evil, 
as the men were themselves to blame as much as 
any one else, but at last the British Consul solved 
the difficulty by arranging for the payment of the 
men's wages by pay- notes, to be recovered on 
their return to England. In this way the diffi- 



284 Belgian Life 

culty was overcome, and the troublesome scenes 
of a few years back have not been renewed. 

Nautical life in Belgium, which, practically 
speaking, means in this matter Antwerp, is not so 
picturesque as in Holland, where the population 
of Rotterdam and all the seacoast towns is typi- 
cally nautical. Along the quays of Antwerp one 
may occasionally see a red-breeched, burly sailor 
with his inexpressibles tucked into grey stock- 
ings, but if so it will probably be found that he 
hails from Flushing or Middelburg. The Flem- 
ish sailor has little or nothing about him to distin- 
guish him from any other of his craft, and neither 
in the colour nor in the shape of his clothes, is 
there anything of the picturesque. The testimony 
of English captains who have employed Flemings 
in their crews is, however, favourable to them. 
They have the virtues of the northern races, 
Scandinavians, Danes, and Dutch. They are 
hard workers, easily contented, and able to stand 
privation. But hitherto the Fleming has sailed 
under a foreign flag in mixed companies; it re- 
mains to be seen whether he will do so well when 
working exclusively among his own race and 
under the national ensign. 




CHAPTER XX 

THE ARMY AND MII^ITARY I,IFE^ 

AlyTHOUGH Belgium is not a military State 
in the same sense that its powerful neigh- 
bours are, the army plays there a considerable 
r61e, and a very large section of the people are in- 
terested from one cause or another in military life. 
In the first place, the existence of the conscription 
represents a practical reality to the masses, and in 
the second a very considerable proportion of the 
well-to-do select the army as an honourable career 
for their sons in the capacity of commissioned offi- 
cers. The important position which Belgium fills 
in the map of Europe, regarded from the strategi- 
cal standpoint, the not less vital question of the 
maintenance of the balance of power, and the 
never absent probability of an occasion arising 
when it will be necessar}^ for the Belgians to make 
a great personal effort to defend not merely their 
neutrality, but even their independence, are cal- 
culated to add to the estimation in which their 
army is held by Belgian citizens. The abolition 
of the still existing right of pre-emption, by which 
a substitute can be procured on payment of ;^68, 
285 



286 Belgian Life 

will remove a class grievance in the unequal in- 
cidence of ' ' the blood tax ' ' between the rich and 
the poor, and this abolition is rendered practically 
inevitable by the admitted failure of the com- 
promise arranged in 1901 by the Army Reform 
Act for the voluntary recruitment of a body of 
long-service troops so as to increase the peace 
effective by twenty per cent. Against the in- 
clination of many Belgians time and destiny are 
slowly but surely proving that they must become 
an armed nation. 

Although the Walloons gained a high reputa- 
tion for courage in the service of the foreign occu- 
piers of their country, the distinct military annals 
of the Belgians commence only with the War of 
I^iberation. That struggle was begun by civilians 
who did not possess a uniform, and the old prints 
show that the leaders fought in tall hats. It is 
not surprising, then, that in the campaign of 1831 
these untrained men proved unable to make a 
prolonged stand against the Dutch regulars, and 
that on some occasions they were seized with 
panic. But owning to the exertions of King I^eo- 
pold a remarkable reorganisation of the national 
forces was effected in the ensuing year, and at the 
end of 1832 the Belgian army was composed of 
one hundred thousand drilled soldiers. King 
I^eopold wished that the task of capturing the 
citadel of Antwerp should be left to him, and 
from a Belgian point of view it would have been 
better to have done this; but the Powers decided 



The Army and Military Life 287 

that the Belgian army should remain on the de- 
fensive. After the peace King lyeopold continued 
throughout his reign to devote special care and 
attention to the reorganisation of his army, and 
its military spirit was sustained and increased by 
his initiative and example. Among his measures 
may be mentioned the institution of the mess for 
each regiment in imitation of the English practice. 

The dismantling of the elaborate system of 
fortresses that had been created after Waterloo, 
with the exception of Antwerp and Namur, ren- 
dered it especially necessary that, however small 
in numbers, the Belgian army should be excellent 
in quality, and there is no doubt that before the 
great war of 1870 it was in many respects quite 
the equal of its neighbours. Much evidence is 
obtainable in support of this statement, and the 
captive Napoleon on his way to Prussia admired 
the Belgian artiller}^ But while both the French 
and Germans have made extraordinary progress 
in their military organisation during the last 
thirty years, so that practically every citizen is a 
trained soldier, the Belgians have remained sta- 
tionary, and in some matters have even gone back. 
To give one illustration will suffice; the field ar- 
tillery is precisely the same as it was in 1870. It 
is true that a new quick-firing gun is to be intro- 
duced, but nothing has yet been done in the way 
of rearmament, and the experiments for the selec- 
tion of an approved type are not yet completed. 

On a peace footing the Belgian army numbers 



288 Belgian Life 

47,000 men, and on the outbreak of war the re- 
serves increase it to 147,000 men. The infantry- 
is divided into i regiment of Carabiniers of 4 ac- 
tive battalions and 3 of reserve, i regiment of 
Grenadiers, 3 regiments of foot Chasseurs, and 14 
of lyine, all of 3 active and 2 reserve battalions. 
The infantry is, therefore, comprised of 19 regi- 
ments, or 58 active battalions and 39 reserve bat- 
talions, or about 100,000 men on a war footing. 
The peace establishment does not reach half that 
total, as the active battalions are kept at only 
four-fifths their strength. The number of in- 
fantry officers on active service is nearly 1800. 

The cavalry is composed of 8 regiments of about 
400 men each. Two regiments are Guides, 2 
horse Chasseurs, and 4 Lancers. There are 320 
officers on the establishment. The Guides have 
a handsome uniform of scarlet trousers, green 
tunics and busbies, and are always quartered in 
Brussels, where they serve as a sort of body-guard 
or household cavalry to the sovereign. They 
have two fine barracks at Etterbeck, and the offi- 
cers are men of good birth, and many of them re- 
present the old noble families of the Netherlands. 
There is a cavalry school at Ypres somewhat after 
the model of the French establishment of the same 
kind at Saumur, but it is admitted to stand in 
need of reorganisation. The whole of the Belgian 
cavalry is light; but here, again, the armament 
has not been brought up to the level required by 
modern warfare. Taken all through it is well 



The Army and Military Life 289 

mounted, many of the horses being purchased in 
England and Ireland. 

The Belgian artillery, which in the time of I^eo- 
pold I. was noted for its efficiency, is divided into 
three classes, horse, field, and siege. There are 4 
horse, 30 field, and 70 siege batteries on the peace 
establishment, with 500 officers and 4000 men on 
the active list. In the engineer corps are 140 
officers and about 2000 men. The commissariat 
or train numbers 30 officers and 600 men. Thus 
the total combatant strength of the Belgian army 
on a peace footing numbers less than 50,000 men, 
and it is computed that on the calling up of the 
reserves, allowing for the absent, the total would 
barely reach 140,000 effectives. This force would 
suffice only to provide adequate garrisons for the 
fortified positions at I^iege and Namur, and for 
the fortress at Antwerp, thus leaving the capital 
and the whole of Flanders and Hainaut at the 
mercy of an invader. Under these circumstances 
military reformers in Belgium have long been 
agitating for the abolition of the privilege of pre- 
emption, the strict enforcement of the law of con- 
scription, the increase of the annual contingent, 
and the formation of an efficient reserve and ter- 
ritorial army. Up to the present hour no progress 
has been achieved in any one of the desired direc- 
tions, although twenty years have elapsed since 
General Brialmont first drew the attention of his 
countrymen to the defects of their position. With 
great difficulty he obtained from the Chamber the 



290 Belgian Life 

grants necessary to fortify Liege and Namur and 
thus secure the passages of the Meuse, but all his 
efforts failed to procure the funds for the com- 
pletion of the trilateral by the fortification of St. 
Trond, or for the construction of the forts still 
missing, as already described, in the circumvalla- 
tion of Antwerp. It has been said that the Bel- 
gian Parliament agreed to provide the bricks 
required for national defence, but that it has reso- 
lutely declined to furnish the men. 

It will give the general reader some idea of the 
defects of the military system if he will make a 
comparison between the following sketch by a 
moderate military reformer as to what his country 
requires, and the particulars already given about 
the existing Belgian army. He proposes that the 
peace establishment should be raised to 107,000 
men, and that the infantry should consist of 25 
regiments of 4 battalions each, with an extra bat- 
talion for the dep6t. The cavalry, he says, ought 
to be increased to 10 regiments of 500 men each, 
always with the colours, and on the declaration 
of war this total should become not less than 7000. 
In addition there ought to be territorial cavalry 
on the model of our Yeomanry of 2000 men. The 
artillery should be increased to 6 batteries of horse 
and 60 of field, or 396 guns, and the siege artil- 
lery so as to number altogether 40 batteries, half 
of which would form part of the territorial army. 
The engineer and special corps, ought to be raised 
to 4500 men. Behind the active army of 107,000 



The Army and Military Life 291 

men should be the first reserve of 77,000, a terri- 
torial army of 88,500, and a territorial reserve of 
95,000, or a grand total of 368,000 men. This 
would mean an effective force for the defence of 
the country of at least 300,000 men. By this or- 
ganisation, which was sketched by Colonel Adtz 
of the Belgian staff, there would be adequate gar- 
risons for all the fortified positions and a field 
army of over 100,000 men to co-operate with the 
Power or Powers which upheld Belgian indepen- 
dence. Such an organisation as this would make 
Belgium practically secure against invasion. 

After the grave civil disturbances of 1893, it was 
decided to strengthen the force at the disposal of the 
authorities for maintaining law and order. There 
was no immediate prospect of obtaining the in- 
crease of the regular army, and therefore it was de- 
cided to organise the bourgeois or householder 
class in the towns into a Garde Civique. The 
idea, from a social point of view, was excellent, 
and although the Garde Civique has no serious 
military value it provides a considerable safeguard 
against the outbreak of any internal disorders. 
The Garde Civique at present numbers 50,000, 
and although the bulk of them are infantry, there 
are a few regiments of cavalrj^, the men providing 
their own horses. A still more limited number 
form artillery corps, but by a strange coincidence 
this section, at least at Antwerp, is the most efii- 
cient, and might be brigaded with regular siege 
artillery. The different corps selected their own 



292 Belgian Life 

uniforms, which are very effective, and the regi- 
ments hold a weekly parade, every Sunday morn- 
ing. This drill is not very severe, and they are 
only required to fire twelve cartridges at the rifle 
butts in each year. The Garde Civique was never 
intended to supply the military deficiencies of the 
country, but its creation was certainly favourable to 
the idea of eventually forming a territorial army. 
In order to maintain its purely civic character, the 
members are required to doff their uniform im- 
mediately after the Sunday parade. 

In addition to the forces enumerated there is 
a very fine body of men in the gendarmerie. 
This is quite a corps d'ilite, and would bear com- 
parison with any other military force in Europe. 
They are in the first place trained soldiers, selected 
from the ranks of the army for their good phys- 
ique. They are a combination of mounted police- 
men and heavy cavalry. In their undress uniform 
they resemble the former, and in their full dress 
the latter. They are stationed throughout the 
provinces, and they patrol the high-roads. Much 
of their work consists in preventing smuggling 
across the very extended frontiers of the little 
State. Their number varies between 2500 and 
3000 men, with only sixty officers ; the small pro- 
portion necessary being a certain indication of 
their efficiency. It is nowadays kept at its full 
strength of 3000 men. Until 1899 \h^ gendarmerie 
was a force of which the inhabitants of the towns 
knew and recked little. On State occasions, such 



The Army and Military Life 293 

as the King's f^te day, a few of them appeared in 
Brussels in their uniform, with bearskins resemb- 
ling the Horse Grenadiers of the French army, 
and the headquarters of the gendarmerie is an im- 
posing building on the boulevards. But in that 
year there were very serious riots in Brussels, and 
a social upheaval seemed possible. It was neces- 
sary to have a force at hand on which implicit re- 
liance could be placed. The first division of the 
gendarmerie^ quartered in the provinces of Bra- 
bant, Hainaut, and Namur, was accordingly sum- 
moned to the capital, and in the street disturbances 
this force distinguished itself by a thoroughness 
and zeal to which the Brussels mob was quite un- 
accustomed in the regular champions of the law. 
It was made abundantly clear that, if the gend- 
armes had been left to deal with the Socialist 
bands as they thought proper, the population of 
the Socialist haunts in Brussels would have been 
seriously diminished. As a consequence, the 
promoters of disorder were quite disconcerted. 
M. Vandervelde then uttered his mot that revolv- 
ers were useless against mausers, and the gend- 
armes became the objects of the fear and the 
hatred of the Brussels mob, who christened them 
the Pandours. 

By the admission of Belgian officers the disci- 
pline and training of the infantry soldiers leave 
much to be desired. Out of deference to public 
sentiment, which has hitherto not regarded the 
army with too favourable an eye, no measures 



294 Belgian Life 

have been taken to perfect the force as a military 
machine. In order not to make the young con- 
scripts discontented and resentful after they leave 
the colours, their work is practically confined to 
learning their drill so that they may march cor- 
rectly through the streets. In the summer the 
regiments are sent in rotation for a few weeks 
each to the camp at Beverloo, in Limburg, where 
they execute manoeuvres and undergo some real 
training; but this lasts for only a very short time. 
Beverloo is known officially as the camp for ** per- 
fecting the drill of the infantry. ' ' With regard to 
the national danger arising from the defects in the 
training of the Belgian soldiers at the present 
time, no plainer warning has ever been uttered 
than that of the present King: " Our military in- 
stitutions should, with due regard to proportion, 
copy those of the powerful nations on our frontiers. 
Our tactical units ought to be composed, armed, 
and trained under conditions analogous to those 
of our neighbours. If the Belgian system of de- 
fence were composed of men less well trained in 
the military service than those of these countries, 
it would only enter the lists to be uselessly sacri- 
ficed.'" Well, it is notorious that the Belgian 
army is so composed at the present time, and as 
the King went on to say "" all delusions on this 
point must prove fatal." 

The only subjects about which the Belgian 
public have displayed any interest relate to the 
development of industry and trade, and to the 



The Army and Military Life 295 

acquisition of wealth. They have not given a 
serious thought to the security of the national 
workshop, with which their own prosperity is 
bound up. Until these views undergo a complete 
and thorough change no reorganisation of the 
army is possible. Military enthusiasm remains 
suppressed, and the routine work is done in a per- 
functory manner. The training of the infantry 
stops with parade instructions, and of the real 
conditions of modern warfare the men know no- 
thing. The first and essential condition of any 
army reform in Belgium must be the abolition of 
the pre-emption privilege, and the conversion of 
the existing army into a truly national and repre- 
sentative force. The meagre results achieved 
must be somewhat disappointing to those who 
know that education for a military career forms 
a very important part of national education in 
Belgium as a whole. There are military schools 
for the sons or grandsons of soldiers at Alost and 
Namur, who in return for their education engage 
to serve with the colours until they are twenty- 
four. A curious feature of these institutions is 
that the teachers are ofiicers detached from their 
regiments for the purpose of being schoolmasters. 
Many of these pupils of the State become non- 
commissioned ofl&cers, or join the Congo State 
service in Central Africa. At Bouillon there is 
a more advanced school for the training of non- 
commissioned officers. The average age at which 
the period of training begins is sixteen, and by 



296 Belgian Life 

undergoing this preliminary training young men 
of respectable parentage escape the drudgery of 
the conscript private's life, and are drafted as re- 
quired into regiments as corporals. Reference has 
been made to the cavalry school at Ypres. There 
is an artillery school at Brasschaet, not far from 
Antwerp, as well as a polygon for artillery and 
big-gun practice and experiments. 

A gymnasium and a fencing school have been 
established at Brussels, and quite recently the 
regiment of Grenadiers, in which Prince Albert 
has long been an oflScer, adopted a course of 
gymnastics on the model of the Swedish army. 
The most characteristic feature of military life in 
Belgium is the officers' mess. This was intro- 
duced by the first King, not only because he had 
seen how well the practice worked in England, 
but because he wished to maintain the dignity of 
the uniform by removing the necessity for the 
young officers dining in cheap and consequently 
inferior restaurants. The hour for the mess is, 
however, left to the judgment of the colonel and 
the convenience of his officers. The Grenadiers 
dine at their fine officers' quarters or mess on the 
boulevard at seven in the evening; but other regi- 
ments have this regimental meal earlier, generally 
at 5.30. There is no doubt that the mess greatly 
increases the esprit de corps, although married 
officers object to it. 

The chief, indeed the only, school to pass 
through, for the grade of officer in the army, is 



The Army and Military Life 297 

the icole militaire at Ixelles. This institution 
used to occupy the old Abbey of the Cambre, but 
a new building has been lately provided for it at 
the other end of the town, near the Cinquante- 
naire. Here the course is for two years, and there 
are two divisions, the first for cavalry and infan- 
try, and the second for artillery and engineers. 
At the end of two years there is a general exami- 
nation, and those who pass for the first division 
are appointed sub-lieutenants in the army and 
sent to join the regiments selected for them. But 
the successful candidates in the second division do 
not leave the school, but enter on a fresh term of 
two years, and, on passing a further technical ex- 
amination, at the end of that period are gazetted 
as full lieutenants to their branch of the service. 
The education and training are said to be excel- 
lent, and the cost is so reasonable that many per- 
sons send their sons to be educated there without 
any real intention of putting them in the army. 

Close to the military school at Ixelles is the 
School of War, which is the Belgian equivalent of 
the English Stafi* College. Its system of instruction 
has a good reputation on the Continent, and many 
officers from the smaller States, such as Rouma- 
nia and Denmark, attend its classes. The course 
covers three years, and is very severe. Only the 
successful candidates who pass with honours, and 
who are under thirty-five years of age at the time 
of passing out, get direct stafi" appointments. The 
others who succeed in passing the examination 



298 Belgian Life 

without honours, or who are over thirty-five, re- 
turn to their regiments with the additional de- 
signation of ^^ adjoint d' itat major'' They are 
ehgible for special appointments, and in the event 
of there being vacancies in the General Staff, 
which would probably happen on mobilisation, 
these adjuncts become eligible for the posts. As 
a rule, there are less than fifty officers serving on 
the staff, and over two hundred qualified serving 
with their regiments. 

In the opinion of competent foreign critics, Bel- 
gian officers are very thoroughly trained in the 
theory of their profession, and their technical 
knowledge is good. Physically, they give the 
impression of being rather delicate, and this im- 
pression is heightened by their generally wearing 
an overcoat tightened at the waist by a belt. The 
neglect under which all military matters in Bel- 
gium have languished for over thirty years, until 
quite recently, has diminished the martial spirit 
of an army which obtained little or no popular 
recognition, and which by the international status 
of the country has had no opportunity of distin- 
guishing itself in real war. And yet there have 
been and still are, some very earnest and com- 
petent officers in the higher ranks of the Belgian 
army, dating only from 1830. The two generals 
Van der Smissen and Chazal, among those who 
have gone over to the majority, would have 
reached high rank in any army on their merits. 
Among those of a m6re recent period. General 



The Army and Military Life 299 

Brialmont stood in his time at the head of the 
world's military engineers, and General Nicaise, 
although less widely known, is scarcely less com- 
petent in his own sphere as an artillerist. Of 
younger men, General Wahis, late Colonel of the 
Grenadiers, has done admirable organising work 
since he distinguished himself by his gallantry 
in Mexico, and Baron Dhanis and Commandant 
Chaltin have conducted several successful expe- 
ditions in Central Africa under great difficulties. 
In old days the Belgian races, and especially the 
Walloons, produced many excellent military chiefs 
in the service of Spain and Austria, and, were the 
army converted into a truly national force, there 
can be no doubt that their military spirit would 
revive. At present there is something unreal 
about the military resources of Belgium. They 
have been kept not only suppressed, but concealed. 
Circumstances are changing, and they will have 
to be displayed in the light of day. After so long 
a period of inaction and uselessness, it is not 
surprising that a good deal of renovation and re- 
organisation has to be done. 

Although the army of a neutral State has neces- 
sarily few opportunities of distinction, it has the 
definite obligation of defending the country to 
which it belongs, no less than any other national 
force. When the Franco- Prussian war broke out, 
the Belgian army was mobilised for the defence 
of the southern frontier. The northern route, 
unfortunately selected by supreme authority for 



300 Belgian Life 

Marshal MacMahon's army in its advance from 
Chalons to Metz, brought the combatants into 
close proximity to Belgian territory. The Bel- 
gian army, numbering in this quarter about fifty 
thousand men, under the command of the Count 
of Flanders and General Chazal, was drawn up 
along the northern bank of the Semois. After the 
battle of Sedan, a considerable number of French 
fugitives, and some of their Prussian pursuers, 
crossed into Belgium, and were promptly dis- 
armed. No unpleasantness was occasioned be- 
tween the Belgians and the Prussians, and the 
discipline of the Belgian army was highly praised. 
At that period the armament of the Belgians was 
quite as good as that of the French. It was prob- 
ably due to the impression then produced that a 
proposition was made by France, and supported 
by England, in December, 1876, when the Eastern 
question was threatening trouble, that Bosnia- 
Herzegovina should be occupied on a European 
mandate by six thousand Belgian troops. Apart 
from the incidents of 1870, the only opportunity 
Belgian troops have had of distinguishing them- 
selves was in 1866, when a Belgian contingent 
under General Van der Smissen went to Mexico 
to support the Emperor Maximilian, and earned 
a good deal of credit in several actions. 

The pay of the Belgian officer is not very high, 
but he seems able to live upon it. Promotion is 
slow — on an average it takes twenty years to be- 
come a captain — and the prizes of the profession 



The Army and Military Life 301 

are few, and these are allotted in strict order of 
seniority. Still, Belgian officers give the impres- 
sion of being fairly well contented with their pro- 
fession. It is perhaps for this reason that so few 
of them volunteer for service in the Congo State, 
the public force of which is mainly officered from 
the ranks of the non-commissioned officers at 
home. An officer's life is not very hard. He has 
a great deal of spare time; his uniform obtains for 
him a certain amount of popular consideration, 
and his prospects, if limited and slow, are sure. 
His relations with his men are generally satisfac- 
tory, as it is not the practice in Belgium to work 
the young conscripts too hard. The order of the 
day is to deal leniently with them, so that the 
army may be rendered more popular in the coun- 
try, and in the hope that those who pass through 
it may go back to civil life, and report that their 
stay in the army was not so hard and bad as many 
political agitators declare. The Belgian discipline 
is not Prussian. The brutal officer and still more 
brutal drill-sergeant are unknown in the army of 
Belgium. 




CHAPTER XXI 

COLONIES AND COLONIAI. ASPIRATIONS 

THE colonial aspirations of the Belgian people, 
or at least of their rulers, are much older 
than the founding of the Congo State in 1884. 
As long ago as 1843 the first King Leopold de- 
clared that it was ** necessary to organise regular 
relations with distant countries " for the benefit of 
Belgian trade, and he suggested that '' a Company 
on the model of the Ostend Company of the eigh- 
teenth century would render the greatest services 
to the country. ' ' At that time Belgian aspirations 
turned chiefly in the direction of Central America, 
and an expedition, half military and half com- 
mercial, was despatched in the year named to 
found a Belgian colony in Guatemala. No prac- 
tical result followed from this attempt, the history 
of which is contained in a number of military 
reports that have been quite forgotten. 

The subject of colonial expansion was revived 
in i860, after the return in 1859 of the present 
King, then Duke of Brabant, from a tour in the 
Far East. It is said that he had formed a plan 
for establishing a Belgian colony in the island of 
302 



Colonial Aspirations 303 

Formosa, and concentrating the efforts of his 
countrymen on the development of that beautiful 
island, which the Japanese are now slowly but 
surely accomplishing. There were other projects 
besides, but none took any practical form until the 
present King's attention was turned to Central 
Africa by the general desire of all civilised peoples 
to put an end to the horrors of the slave trade. 
The Pope took a prominent part in initiating what 
has been called a modern crusade, and the decla- 
mations of the eloquent Cardinal Lavigerie no- 
where made a deeper impression than at Brussels. 
The psychological moment had arrived for giving 
a definite bent to Belgian aspirations for securing 
a special outlet of their own in a colonial posses- 
sion. Time and circumstances were to give the 
turn to the enterprise, which, encouraged by re- 
ligious and philanthropic zeal, was destined to en- 
dow the Belgian people with one of the finest and 
largest colonial possessions in the world. 

It is not necessary to give in great detail the 
story of the founding of the Congo State, but a 
summary of the main facts will be found useful. 
In 1876, King I^eopold summoned a Geographical 
Conference at Brussels, basing his invitation on 
the ground that there was a generally prevalent 
desire throughout Christendom to "abolish slavery 
in Africa, to pierce the darkness that still envel- 
ops that part of the world, and to pour into it the 
treasures of civilisation." The conference was 
duly held, and as its result *'The International 



304 Belgian Life 

Association for the Exploration and Civilisation 
of Central Africa' ' was formed. Four expeditions 
were successively equipped for the purpose of com- 
mencing operations on the scene, and it will give 
the reader an idea of how completely the situation 
has altered since that date to state that the base 
of these expeditions was on the Kast Coast, in the 
territory of the Sultan of Zanzibar. The result of 
these efforts was the founding of the two stations 
of Karema and Mpala on the lake Tanganyika; 
but long before this success was achieved the 
centre of interest had shifted elsewhere. 

Very soon after the Brussels Conference, Mr. 
(now Sir) H. M. Stanley reached the mouth of 
the Congo River, after his wonderful journey 
across Central Africa. His description of the 
great inland waterway, stretching across three 
parts of the Continent and only cut off from the 
Atlantic by a hundred miles of cataracts, electri- 
fied the world. He declared that "the Power 
which makes herself mistress of the Congo must 
absorb, despite the cataracts, all the commerce of 
the immense basin which expands itself behind 
that river. ' ' No Power then came forward to claim 
the prize; when England signed the treaty with 
Portugal seven years later it was too late. The 
King of the Belgians had been much struck by 
Mr. Stanley's statement. He invited him to 
Brussels, induced him to enter his service, and 
founded a new association for exploring the Upper 
Congo. This enterprise was strictly Belgian and 



Colonial Aspirations 305 

contained the real germ of the Congo State. 
Finally, Mr. Stanley agreed to lead an expedition 
for the purpose of establishing stations or block- 
houses along the Congo River. Great care had 
to be taken in sparing the susceptibilities of the 
Portuguese, who held the mouth of the river. 

The expedition under Mr. Stanley numbered 
ten Europeans, of whom five were Belgians, and 
one hundred and forty blacks, recruited by him- 
self. The first station was founded at Vivi, the 
highest point to which boats could get below 
the cataracts. A road was then constructed from 
Vivi to Isanghila, at which place navigation again 
became possible as far as Manyanga, where river 
navigation ceases until Stanley Pool is reached. 
Having conveyed his river steamers in sections 
across the district called after the cataracts, Stan- 
ley put them together on the lake just named, and 
proceeded up the river to establish a line of posts. 
In the course of five years he completed a chain 
from I^eopoldville to Stanley Falls. Extensive 
explorations had also been carried on by the de- 
spatch of steamers up the great tributaries of the 
Congo. In this manner much of Central Africa 
had been brought under the influence of the Bel- 
gians, but the measures had been carried on in an 
unofficial manner, and no one could say exactly 
what was the status of the Association. Portugal 
still held the coast, and its pretensions over the 
hinterland had never been withdrawn. Yet there 
could not be a doubt in any one's mind that that 



3o6 Belgian Life 

Power had lost for ever the reversion of Central 
Africa which it had so long cherished. 

The Anglo-Portuguese Convention of February 
7, 1884, was an attempt to establish Portuguese 
supremacy, and it had an unfortunate fate. In 
March of the same year the French Government 
declared it would not be bound by it, and in 
April Germany followed suit. In June the two 
Powers went further, and agreed that the Congo 
should be placed under international control. Al- 
though England was quite in the wrong, and 
showed gross diplomatic ineptitude, this rebuff 
was a most unpleasant experience. An Anglo- 
Portuguese Convention concluded on the morrow 
of Stanley's return in 1876 would have had some 
justification and chance of success, but in 1884 it 
was useless and impracticable. It was also too late. 

Before France and Germany came to their 
agreement in June, the status of the Congo As- 
sociation had improved. On April 22, 1884, the 
United States recognised it as a properly consti- 
tuted State, and France followed the example the 
next day. For her complaisance France, how- 
ever, required and obtained some compensation. 
The Congo Association entered into the following 
obligation towards France, viz., that *'it would 
never cede its possessions to another Power with- 
out a prior understanding with France, and that 
if it were compelled to alienate any of its territory 
France should have the right of pre-emption." 
In November, Germany also recognised the new 



Colonial Aspirations 307 

State, and immediately afterwards Prince Bis- 
marck issued invitations for a conference at Ber- 
lin for the purpose of regulating the African 
question. It is important to remember that the 
Congo State had been recognised as a State by 
three Great Powers before the Berlin Conference. 
The Conference lasted from November, 1884, to 
February, 1885, and concluded with an Act pro- 
claiming the neutrality of the Congo territory 
and freedom of trade and navigation therein. Be- 
fore that Act was signed the Congo Association 
had been recognised by all the Powers as a State, 
and thus became the Free or Independent State 
of the Congo. Separate treaties with the adjacent 
States defined the limits of its sovereign authority. 
The most important of these was the one with 
Portugal, for it secured the outlet to the sea, to- 
gether with possession of the ports of Banana and 
Boma, which was indispensable for the develop- 
ment of the State. Another important treaty was 
signed with France in 1887, by which the right of 
pre-emption, already referred to, was waived as 
against Belgium. By this arrangement the rever- 
sion of the Cod go State to Belgium became pos- 
sible, and when in 1890 the King published his 
will, bequeathing the Central African State to his 
country after his death, it became clear that one 
of his chief motives throughout had been to endow 
Belgium with a colony. 

France's right of pre-emption has been men- 
tioned, and as it has been frequently recalled during 



3o8 Belgian Life 

the recent discussions on the subject of the ad- 
ministration of the Congo State, it is desirable 
to record some facts which would have to be taken 
into account if at any time an attempt were made 
to give it force. This right of pre-emption was 
given as the price for the recognition by France 
of the Congo Association as a State. It was of the 
nature of a private agreement between two parties. 
It certainly tied the hands of the Congo State, but 
internationally its validity could not be binding 
on Governments which were no party to it. Ger- 
many would certainly not recognise it, and neither 
would England, once the anti- Congolese mania 
had abated. Indeed, to let France acquire the 
best part of Africa must appear too absurd to any 
one who will give the subject five minutes' con- 
sideration. But there is another point. The 
would-be donors of the Congo State to France 
overlook the meaning of the word pre-emption. 
Pre-emption implies purchase; it does not warrant 
spoliation and robbery. The present value of the 
Congo State at a moderate computation is forty 
millions sterling. Are the French people willing 
to pay a milliard for it ? If they are, perhaps 
business might yet be done. 

This possession, which for over eighteen years 
has been governed as a separate monarch)^ by 
King lycopold, covers an area of 900,000 square 
miles, and contains a population which has been 
v^ariously estimated, but which cannot be less than 
20,000,000. The cost of the creation of the State 



Colonial Aspirations 309 

was defrayed by the King out of his private 
fortune, and is said to have exceeded a million 
sterling. It was not until the second Brussels 
Conference, in 1890, that the State obtained the 
right to levy taxes and impose customs duties. 
The revenue in that 3^ear was less than ;^20,ooo, 
and the expenditure seven times as great. It was 
impossible to expect such a state of things to con- 
tinue. It could only result in a financial catas- 
trophe. The new powers conferred by the 
Brussels Act raised the annual revenue gradually 
to about ;^36o,ooo in 1897, ^^^ since that year it 
has shown a steady annual increase, until the 
Budget of 1 903 anticipated a re venue of ;^ 1,1 00, 000, 
which has been more than realised. It is only 
within the last three years, however, that an equi- 
librium has been established between payments 
and receipts. After some anxiety and a long strug- 
gle the Government of this great Central African 
dominion can now be described as paying its way. 
During the last twelve years the trade of the 
Congo State has made marked progress, consider- 
ing that the only railways actually working are the 
line traversing the cataracts district to Leopold- 
ville and a short railway through the Mayumba 
district behind Bonia. The export trade has risen 
from half a million sterling in 1895 to nearly two 
millions in 1902, while the imports have shown 
equal proportional progress, being now computed 
at nearly one and a half millions. This total will 
necessarily increase with the progress of railway 



3IO Belgian Life 

construction in the interior, and it may be men- 
tioned that many schemes have been officially 
sanctioned, and some are in progress. Rubber is 
the chief Congo export. The total value of the 
African rubber sold on the Antwerp market was 
about ;^8oo,ooo until 1902, when it nearly doubled, 
reaching in that year a total of five thousand tons, 
worth, say, ;^i,5oo,ooo. These figures sufficiently 
dispose of the absurd story that the present King 
clears a million a year out of this article, for the 
rubber is the property of companies, whose shares, 
largely held by Belgians, are quoted at high pre- 
miums. Moreover, the Belgian Foreign Minister 
has solemnly declared that all receipts from the 
domaine privi and the Crown domain are passed 
into the public accounts. 

Belgium has thus acquired the claim to the pos- 
session of a vast colony which enjoys present 
prosperity and promises to become more valuable 
every year. She is thus the Colonial Power that 
she first aspired to be in 1843. It has been said 
that the Belgians would be wiser to attend to the 
home affairs of their little countrj^ and not enter 
into dangerous competitions beyond the seas. 
But when the little country by its own energy 
has raised itself into the position of the fourth 
trading and manufacturing country of Europe, it 
has reason to think otherwise. It has just as 
much right to found colonies, if it can do so, as 
other nations. What has really passed away is 
the pretension that because it is a little State it 



Colonial Aspirations 311 

can be allowed privileges that are withheld from 
great States. By much cleverness and the good 
fortune without which cleverness may go empty- 
handed, the Congo State has been founded as, 
practically speaking, a Belgian colony. It has 
many enemies and detractors, and not the least of 
the operating motives is envy that so large a part 
should have fallen to Belgium in the scramble for 
Africa. The Belgians will have some day or 
other to reckon with this sentiment, and the more 
carefully they discharge the obligations they con- 
tracted under the Acts of Berlin and Brussels the 
better prepared will they be to meet and repel the 
attack when it comes in a serious form. 

There are some persons who scoff at the idea of 
Belgium requiring or possessing colonies. If they 
were to read M. Alphonse de Haulleville's exhaus- 
tive and remarkable work^ on the colonising apti- 
tudes of the Belgians they might change their 
tone. After tracing the colonial efforts of his race 
from the dawn of history down to the efforts of 
the Ostend Company in the eighteenth century to 
obtain its share of the trade with India, the au- 
thor makes these two declarations — "the Belgians, 
as proved by their past, know how to colonise," 
and * * their necessities caused by the plethora of a 
dense population compel them to colonise unless 

• Les Aptitudes Colonisatrices des Beiges et la Question 
Coloniale en Belgique, par A. de HauUeville, 1898. The 
author is the son of the late well-known publicist in Bel- 
gium, Baron Prosper de HauUeville. 



312 Belgian Life 

they are prepared to perish as a nation, or at least 
behold their existing prosperity depart." It is 
not merely the continued remarkable increase in 
the Belgian population, until it is not far short of 
seven millions, besides the million or over said to 
be resident in France; but the appreciation of the 
fact that Belgian trade with its neighbours in Eu- 
rope has been stationary for the last seven or eight 
years that has compelled thoughtful Belgians to 
turn all their attention to extending the national 
trade by every means beyond the sea. It is thus 
necessity as much as ambition that has compelled 
the Belgians to take up seriously the question of 
colonies and colonial trade. 

There is one serious obstacle in the way of any 
extensive Belgian colonisation, and that is the 
popular aversion to emigration. * ' Home ' s best ' ' 
is still the Flemish motto, and there is the greatest 
difficulty in obtaining volunteers for the Congo, 
although the Belgians resident in the whole of 
that vast territory do not reach fifteen hundred. 
How far the pinch of want when it comes may 
drive the Belgians to seek a new home in those 
portions of Central Africa which may hereafter be 
declared suitable for European residents remains 
to be seen. No such movement to any part of the 
world has yet revealed itself in Belgium. But if 
the Belgians object to emigrating they have no ob- 
jection to exporting their manufactures, and in 
that sense they appreciate the Congo State as an 
outlet for their commercial products. If they have 



Colonial Aspirations 313 

any pronounced sentiment in the matter, it is only 
the disappointment that it has not proved a larger 
and more profitable outlet. One million and a 
half s worth of exports to a region that is in their 
actual possession does not seem a large part of a 
total export trade of 127,000,000. As an outlet 
for Belgian manufactures the value of the Congo 
lies more in the future than in the present. But 
it is different with regard to the exports from 
Central Africa itself. There a definite source of 
national wealth has been obtained. Among the 
advantages to be derived from colonial posses- 
sions, M. de HauUeville very rightly lays stress 
on the importance of their producing the raw ma- 
terial which the possessing State knows how to 
convert into the manufactured article needed by 
the European market. 

This result has already been produced in the 
case of caoutchouc, or the rubber plant of the 
Congo region. In 1886 the export of caoutchouc 
was valued at only ^6000; in 1902 it exceeded 
;^75o,ooo, and in 1903 it reached ;^ 1,500, 000. It 
is impossible to state what is the ultimate sale 
value of the manufactured articles produced from 
this supply of raw material. Formerly Brazil 
was the chief if not the only source of supply, but 
to-day the price of Congo rubber on the Antwerp 
market helps to regulate the value of this article 
on the Continent. It has been declared that the 
rubber bearing lianas (^Landolphia florida) will 
soon be exhausted, but there does not seem to be 



314 Belgian Life 

any justification for this statement. In the early 
stages of the exploitation wasteful methods were 
in practice, but these have long been suppressed, 
and the greatest care is taken to preserve the lianas. 

The possession of the Congo territory, unduly 
large as many of its critics pronounce it to be for 
a small State like Belgium, does not satisfy Belgian 
aspirations. In Siam and Persia considerable ac- 
tivity has been shown and Belgian subjects are 
placed in good positions to promote the commer- 
cial and political objects of their country. But it 
is not probable that in these States Belgian activ- 
ity includes any scheme for founding a colony. 
Morocco is another country with a stormy present 
and an uncertain future upon which Belgian at- 
tention has been fixed for a good many 3'^ears. 

It is, however, China that has attracted the 
largest measure of notice, and that appeals most 
to the aspirations of the colonial school in Bel- 
gium. The acquisition of the contract for the 
trunk line from Peking to Hankow in 1898 was a 
marked success, although achieved with the joint 
participation of France, and with the alleged co- 
operation or connivance of the Russian Govern, 
ment acting under the cloak of the Russo-Chinese 
Bank. It has naturally whetted the appetite for 
further successes of the same kind, and a strenu- 
ous effort was long made to obtain a share of the 
so-called Anglo-American concession for the Can- 
ton-Hankow line, which is the southern section of 
the line now in course of construction from Pek- 



Colonial Aspirations 315 

ing. The e£fort has met with success, and quite 
recently it has been stated that the northern sec- 
tion of this line has passed into Belgian hands. 
It is also declared that the Belgians possess alto- 
gether not less than fifty concessions in China. 
These contracts mean large orders for Belgian 
manufacturers of rails, engines, and other railway 
material, and they probably represent a greater 
immediate profit than a year's export trade to the 
Congo. As Belgian interests in China have as- 
sumed such importance, and promise to acquire 
still more, it is not surprising to learn that the 
Belgian Government thinks that there should be 
a Belgian concession in one, or more than one, 
Chinese trading port. Some time ago Belgian 
concessions were marked out both at Tientsin and 
at Hankow, but for some unspecified reason pos- 
session has not yet been taken of these sites. A 
diplomatic difficulty appears to have supervened 
as to the exact status of Belgium internationally 
as * * a neutral State. ' ' The Congo State is j ust as 
much pledged to neutrality in Africa as Belgium 
herself is in Europe, but the exact status of Bel- 
gian territorial possessions in China has been 
deemed obscure. It is now declared that all diffi- 
culties with regard to the Belgian concession at 
Tientsin have been overcome. I^eaving this and 
other cognate matters to be solved by time, it is 
sufficient to note that the colonising idea has 
taken deep root in the minds of intelligent Bel- 
gians who think, with M. de Haulleville, that 



3i6 Belgian Life 

** colonisation is the only safety of the communities 
upon whom their very prosperity inflicts plethora. ' ' 
It is quite true that there is another class of Bel- 
gians who shrink from the effort required by emi- 
gration and who shudder at the very name of the 
Congo because they believe going there to be syn- 
onymous with death. But these timid persons 
have not prevented the more robust part of the 
nation from accomplishing what has been accom- 
plished, and no doubt the movement will become 
a more marked feature than before in the external 
development of Belgium. There is no reason why 
this tendency should excite any adverse criticism 
or meet with any opposition in England, so long 
as it remains perfectly clear that the Belgians are 
carrying out their own legitimate business and are 
not making themselves the tools of other countries 
whose main object is to injure England. This is 
a pitfall that the Belgians will have to avoid care- 
fully, and there will be the less excuse for them 
if they fail to do so, as they are perfectly aware 
of the suspicions already entertained about their 
being too subservient to Russia in both China and 
Persia. These suspicions may be quite baseless, 
and if so they will soon pass away, but should 
they be confirmed, Belgian colonial aspirations 
would unquestionably suffer. 



INDKX 

Ai,B^RT, Prince, 31 

Antwerp, defence of, 26; life at, 79-92; as a fortress, 

89-92 
Ardennes, the, 233-248 
Army, the, 285-301 
Audenarde, 151 
Aymon and his four sons, 211, 212 

Bayard, the horse, 211-213 

Beernaert, M., 37 

Belgian ofl5cers, 257-259, 285-301 

Belgium, two races of, 1-16; early history of, 2-6; forma- 
tion of modern kingdom, 17-23; created by France 
and England, 26; neutrality of, 28-30, 285, 315; and 
England, 283, 316 

Berchem, 21 

Berlin Conference, the, 307, 311 

Bom a, 307, 309 

Borinage, the, 93-107 

Bouillon, 243-246 

Brasschaet, 296 

Brialmont, General, 221, 299 

Bruges, description of, 142-147; ship canal at, 153 

Brussels, fighting in, 20; palace of, 49, 50; life in, 48- 
78; tramway system of, 75-78 

Campine, the, 105 
Carnival, the, 203, 204 

317 



3i3 Index 

Cassation, Cour de, 171 

Chaltin, Commandant, 299 

Chamber of deputies, the, 34; payment of its members, 

36 
Charlemagne, 211 
Chasse, General, 26 
Chazal, General, 298, 300 
China, Belgian interests in, 314, 315 
Ciergnon, 51 
Clubs and club life, 225 
Cockerill, 112 
Colonies, Belgium, 302-316 
Congo State, the, 306 et seq. 
Conscience, Henri, 9, 218 
Constitution, the, 33 et seq. 
Country life in Belgium, 127-141 
Courtrai, 147-150 
Culembourg, site of, 53 

D'ArenberG, Duke, 52 
Dhanis, Baron, 299 

Dogs, question of their employment, 263-266 
Dutch, rising against, 18 ; recognition of Belgian inde- 
pendence, 26 

Education, 155-170 
Btterbeck, 288 

Fi^ANDERS, Count of, 30, 300 

Flemings, the, 1-7; condition of life among, 131-134 

France acts with England, 25 

France and the Congo State, her right of pre-emption, 

306-308 
Franchimont, 192, 193 

Games, popular, 214-216 
Garde Civique, the, 45, 46, 291 



Index 319 

Gendarmerie, the, 292, 293 
Ghent, life at, 108-112 
Goossens, Archbishop, 165, 166 

HassEI,T, fight at, 23; fetes of, 207-209 
Hautes, Fagnes, the, 189 
Hymans, M. Paul, 46 

IxEi,i,ES, military school at, 297 

Justice, instances of its administration, 176-178 

KermESSE, the, 205 

Laeken, 50 

Lambermont, Baron, 131, 259, 260 

Language, the question of, 4-13 

La Roche, 240, 241 

Lavigerie, Cardinal, 303 

Law, 171-185 

Ledeganck, 10 

Legends, 192-194, 202-217 

Lemonnier, Camille, 218 

Leopold I., 22-25, 30, 48, 237, 286, 302, 307 

Leopold, II., 30, 48, 196, 228, 294, 302-304, 306-310 

Lesse, the, 236-238 

Liege, 114-116; fortifications of, 197-201 

Ligne, Prince de, 52 

Loudon Protocol, the, 24, 26 

Louis Philippe, 22, 25 

MaeTERWNCK, M., 218 
Martyrs, the Belgian, 21 
Merode, Count F. de, 21 
Mining strikes, 96 
Monnaie theatre, the, 18, 71 
Mons, 206 



320 Index 

NkmourS, Due de, 22 
Nicaise, General, 299 
Nothomb, M., 27 

Orangb, Prince of, 19 

PaIvAis de Justice at Brussels, 227, 228 
Pensions, old age, 124 
Plural vote, the, 37 
Police, the, 176, 183-185 
Poperinghe, 152 
Postman, the Brussels, 250-252 
Press, the Belgian, 221, 222 
Proportional representation, 40 

Raii,way travelling, 253-256 
Ravenstein, Hotel, 225 
Religion, 155-170 
Religious orders, 167 
Rochefort, 209, 240, 246, 247 

ST. Hubert, 210 

Seaports and seamen, 277-284 

Semois, the, 241-244 

Senate, the, 34 

Seraing, 112 

Socialist party, the, 42, 43 

Society, Belgian, 48 et seq. 

Stanley, Sir Henry M., 304, 305 

Tervueren, 74 

Types, national, men, 249-261; women, 262-276 

Van der Smissen, General, 298, 300 
Vandervelde, M., 43, 45 
Van Ketvelde, Baron, 260 
Verhaeren, K., 218 



Index 321 



WaES country, the, 128 

Wahis, General, 299 

Walloons, the, 1-7; conditions of life among, 134-136, 

186-201 
Waterloo Lion, the, 27 

Wellington, Duke of, his Belgian estate, 130, 131 
Willems, Jan Frans, 9 
Woeste, M., 54 

Ypres, 150 




Our European Neighbours 

Edited by WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON 

12°. Illustrated. Each, net $1.20 
By Mall 1.30 

I.— FRENCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Hannah Lynch. 

" Miss lyynch's pages are thoroughly interesting and suggestive. 
Her style, too, is not common. It is marked by vivacity without 
any drawback of looseness, and resembles a stream that runs 
strongly and evenly between walls. It is at once distinguished and 
useful. . . . Her five-page description (not dramatization) of the 
grasping Paris landlady is a capital piece of work. . . . Such 
well-finished portraits are frequent in Miss lyynch's book, which is 
small, inexpensive, and of a real excellence. ' '— The I^ndon A cademy. 
' ' Miss Lynch 's book is particularly notable. It is the first of a 
series describing the home and social life of various European 
peoples— a series long needed and sure to receive a warm welcome. 
Her style is frank, vivacious, entertaining, captivating, just the 
kind for a book which is not at all statistical, political, or contro- 
versial. A special excellence of her book, reminding one of Mr. 
Whiteing's, lies in her continual contrast of the English and the 
French, and she thus sums up her praises : ' The English are 
admirable : the French are lovable.' "—The Outlook. 

II.— GERMAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By W. H. Dawson, author of "Germany and the 

Germans," etc. 
"The book is as full of correct, impartial, well-digested, and 
well-presented information as an ^gg is of meat. One can only 
recommend it heartily and without reserve to all who wish to gain 
an insight into German life. It worthily presents a great nation, 
now the greatest and strongest in Europe." — Commercial Advertiser. 

III.-RUSSIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Francis H. E. Palmer, sometime Secretary to 
H. H. Prince Droutskop-Loubetsky (Equerry to 
H. M. the Emperor of Russia). 
" We would recommend this above all other works of its charac- 
ter to those seeking a clear general understanding of Russian life, 
character, and conditions, but who have not the leisure or inclina- 
tion to read more voluminous tomes. ... It cannot be too highly 
recommended, for it conveys practically all that well-informed 
people should know of 'Our European Neighbours.' "—Manl and 
Express. 



Our European Neighbours 



IV.— DUTCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By P. M. Hough, B.A. 

" There is no other book which gives one so clear a picture of 
actual life in the Netherlands at the present date. For its accurate 
presentation of the Dutch situation in art, letters, learning, and 
politics as well as in the round of common life in town and city, 
this book deserves the heartiest pr&ise."— Evening Post. 

"Holland is always interesting, in any line of study. In this 
work its charm is carefully preserved. The sturdy toil of the people, 
their quaint characteristics, their conservative retention of old dress 
and customs, their quiet abstention from taking part in the great 
affairs of the world are clearly reflected in this faithful mirror. The 
illustrations are of a high grade of photogfraphic reproductions."— 
Washington Post. 

V — SWISS LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Alfred T. Story, author of the " Building of 
the British Empire," etc. 

" We do not know a single compact book on the same subject 
in which Swiss character in all its variety finds so sympathetic and 
yet thorough treatment; the reason of this being that the author 
has enjoyed privileges of unusual intimacy with all classes, which 
prevented his lumping the people as a whole without distinction 
of racial and cantonal feeling."— A^iai/zow. 

"There is no phase of the lives of these sturdy republicans, 
whether social or political, which Mr. Story does not touch upon ; 
and an abundance of illustrations drawn from unhackneyed sub- 
jects adds to the value of the hodk..^'— Chicago Dial. 

VI.— SPANISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By L. HiGGiN. 

"Illuminating in all of its chapters. She writes in thorough 
sympathy, bom of long and intimate acquaintance with Spanish 
people of to-day."— 5/. Paul Press. 

"The author knows her subject thoroughly and has written a 
most admirable volume. She writes with genuine love for the 
Spaniards, and with a S5anpathetic knowledge of their character 
and their method of life." — Canada Methodist Review. 



Our European Neighbours 



VII.— ITALIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By LUIGI ViLLARI. 

" A most interesting and instructive volume, which presents an 
intimate view of the social habits and manner of thought of the 
people of which it treats." — Buffalo Express. 

" A book full of information, comprehensive and accurate. Its 
numerous attractive illustrations add to its interest and value. We 
are glad to welcome such an addition to an excellent series." — 
Syracuse Herald. 



VIII.— DANISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Jessie H. Brochner. 

" Miss Brochner has written an interesting book on a fascinat- 
ing subject, a book which should arouse an interest in Denmark in 
those who have not been there, and which can make those who 
know and are attracted by the country very homesick to return, "-r 
Commercial Advertiser. 

"She has sketched with loving art the simple, yet pure and 
elevated lives of her countr3rmen, and given the reader an excellent 
idea of the Danes from every point of vie^.^'— Chicago Tribune. 



IX.— AUSTRO=HUNQARIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY 

By Francis H. E. Palmer, author of " Russian 

Life in Town and Country," etc. 

"No volume in this interesting series seems to us so notable or 
valuable as this on Austro-Hungarian life. Mr. Palmer's long resi- 
dence in Kurope and his intimate association with men of mark, 
especially in their home life, has gfiven to him a richness of experi- 
ence evident on every page of the book."— 77t^ Outlook. 

"This book cannot be too warmly recommended to those who 
have not the leisure or the spirit to read voluminous tomes of this 
subject, yet we wish a clear general understanding of Austro-Hun- 
garian life."— Hart/ord Times. 



Our European Neighbours 



X.— TURKISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By L. M. J. Garnett. 

Miss Garnett, while not altogether ignoring the dark side of 
life in the Empire, portrays more particularly the peaceable life of 
the people— the domestic, industrial, social, and religious life and 
customs, the occupations and recreations, of the numerous and vari- 
ous races within the Empire presided over by the Sultan. 

"The general tone of the book is that of a careful study, the 
style is flowing, and the matter is presented in a bright, taking 
way."— 5^. Paul Press. 

" To the average mind the Turk is a little better than a blood- 
thirsty individual with a plurality of wives and a paucity of vir- 
tues. To read this book is to be pleasantly disillusioned."— /'wd/w: 
opinion. 

XI.— BELGIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Demetrius C. Boulger 



H 52-79 . Ik 








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